DF  GALIF.  LBHURY.  LOf 


STARS. 


1K.ON    AND    THE    STAR. 


Frontispiece. 


<2^>VX-A— A^ 

AMONG  THE  STARS 


OR 


WONDERFUL  THINGS  IN  THE  SKY 


BY 

AGNES    GIBERNE 

Or  "  SUM.  MOON,  AND  STARS,  '  ETC. 


1  God  is  love;  that  anthem  olden, 
Sing  the  glorious  orbs  of  light, 
In  their  language  glad  and  goldea 
Telling  to  as,  day  and  night. 

Their  great  story, 
God  b  Lore,  and  God  is  Might" 


AMERICAN   TRACT   SOCIETY, 

1 50  NASSAU  STREET,  NEW  YORK. 


BY    PERMISSION 
TO 

THE  REV.   CHARLES  PRITCHARD,  D.D., 

(Savilian  Professor  of  Astronomy  at  Oxford,) 
AS  A  SLIGHT  TRIBUTE  OP  ESTEEM. 


2129748 


PREFACE. 


THE  want  has  been  repeatedly  suggested  to  me 
of  a  little  volume  for  children  on  the  subject  of 
Astronomy, — "much  easier  than  'Sun,  Moon,  and 
Stars.'" 

Encouraged  by  the  warm  reception  given  to 
that  former  work  of  mine,  I  now  venture  to  offer 
such  a  little  book  to  friends  and  readers,  trusting 

..that  it  may  be  found  to  supply  in  some  measure 
T| 
a  household  need. 

Eastbourne,  1884. 


CONTENTS. 


•HAPTRR  PAG* 

I.  THE  STAR  THAT  COULD  NOT  BE  FOUND    -  X 

II.  WHAT  ABOUT  THE  STARS  ?  9 

III.  FOLDED  WINGS           -              -  -  -  -     IJ 

IV.  HOW  STARS  RISE  AND  SET-  -  «  -28 
V.  STARS  IN  DAYLIGHT               -  -  -  '39 

VI.  THE  ROUND  EARTH-              -  -  -  -47 

VII.  THINGS  BIG  AND  BEAUTIFUL  -  •  -     57 

viii.  IKON'S  NEW  "LITTLE  MOON"  -  -  -    69 

IX.  SHINE  AND  SHADOW               -  -  .  -78 

X.  THE  SIZE  OF  THE  SUN           -  «  -  -87 

XI.  MANY  WORLDS             -              -  -  •  -     95 

XII.  MANY  DISTANCES      -              -  •  •  -  103 

xiii.  "FAR,  FAR  AWAY"-          -  .  .  -  114 

XIV.  SUMMER  AND  WINTER           -  -  -  -125 

XV.  LETTERS  TO  AND  FRO            -  -  -  -   138 

XVI.  A  DREAM  WITHOUT  AN  ENDING  -  -  -   I  JO 

XVII.  UNFOLDED  WINGS     -  ....   160 


x  Contents. 

CHAPTER  PACK 

xvin.  MR.  FRITZ'S  STORY          -          -          •          -  168 

XIX.  THINGS  LIGHT  AND  HEAVY           -              -              -  189 

XX.  ANOTHER  STORY   .....   199 

1J     XXI.  WHY  THE  STORY  WAS  NOT  ENDED          -              -  213 

XXII.  A  SEQUEL  TO  THE  STORY              -              -              -222 

XXIII.  WHAT  MIGHT  HAVE  BEEN  SEEN-  -              -  255 

XXIV.  HOW  THE  MOON  GOES  ROUND     -  -               -  263 
XXV.  STELLA        --....  272 

XXVI.  STAR-JOURNEYINGS             ....  278 

XXVII.  FAST,  YET  SLOW    .....  285 

XXVIII.  HOW  MANY  STARS  THERE  ARE!                -               -  292 

XXIX.  A  FEW  MORE  QUESTIONS-              •              •              -  302 


AMONG  THE  STARS. 


•<<*:« 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE  STAR  THAT  COULD  NOT  BE  FOUND. 

"DORMER!    O  Dormer!" 

"Well,  Master  Ikon?" 

"  Dormer,  I  can't  think  where  my  star  is  gone." 

"Your  star!"  repeated  Dormer. 

The  two  words  came  out  with  a  jerk,  and  the 
work  in  her  hands  slid  to  the  ground. 

"  My  own  beautiful  star,"  said  the  child.  "  O 
Dormer,  it  was  always  there  before  I  was  ill — 
every  evening  for  a  whole  week.  And  I  meant 
to  go  on  watching  it  always.  And  now  it  is 
gone." 

Dormer  was  a  largely-built  woman  of  middle 
age,  with  a  cap  and  spectacles.  She  had  a  com- 
fortable and  motherly  sort  of  face,  and  eyes  which 
could  look  soft  and  gentle,  or  could  grow  large 
i* 


Among  the  Stars. 


and  round.  At  this  moment  her  eyes  were  round 
as  saucers. 

"  Every  evening  it  was  there  over  the  poplars," 
repeated  Ikon  mournfully.  "  And  you  wouldn't  let 
me  go  to  look  until  to-day.  And  now  it  is  quite 
gone." 

"O  well,  I  wouldn't  mind,"  said  Dormer,  com- 
ing slowly  to  the  conclusion  that  this  was  nc* 
relapse  into  fever,  but  only  "  one  of  Master 
Ikon's  queer  ways."  She  picked  up  her  work, 
and  began  threading  the  needle,  which  had  be- 
come unthreaded  in  its  fall.  "  I  wouldn't  mind, 
if  I  was  you.  There's  hundreds  of  other  stars 
just  as  good.  One  doesn't  signify,  more  or 
less." 

"Wouldn't  anybody  care  if  a  star  was  lost?" 
asked  Ikon  wistfully. 

"  I  shouldn't,"  Dormer  replied. 

"  I  think  I  should.  I  did  love  that  star  so," 
murmured  the  child.  "  I  used  to  think — " 

Ikon  stopped  short.  Dormer  was  a  most  excellent 
and  affectionate  nurse,  and  he  loved  her  dearly. 
She  had  cared  for  him  with  motherly  tenderness 
from  his  earliest  babyhood.  Still,  there  was  a 
certain  something  wanting  between  them.  Ikon 
never  found  that  his  little  innermost  thoughts  and 


The  Star  that  could  not  be  Found.  3 

feelings  and  fancies  met  with  a  response  from 
Dormer.  He  was  a  delicate  and  dreamy  child,  and 
he  often  longed  for  somebody  to  whom  he  could 
speak  freely,  somebody  by  whom  he  would  be  un- 
derstood. 

Ikon's  home  was  in  the  country,  on  a  hill-side, 
with  wide  views  from  the  windows  of  earth 
and  sky.  He  was  an  only  child;  and  he  had 
no  mother;  and  his  father  was  a  grave  man  of 
few  words,  much  occupied,  and  sometimes  away 
for  days  together. 

From  very  babyhood  Ikon  had  been  a  delicate 
child,  often  ill,  and  still  too  frail  to  be  sent  to 
school.  A  lady  came  every  morning  from  some 
distance,  to  give  him  a  few  lessons;  very  few.  For 
Ikon's  father  would  not  allow  more.  He  said  the 
child's  brain  was  too  busy,  and  must  not  be  worked. 

The  little  brain  did  work,  nevertheless.  Ikon 
was  always  wondering  about  this  and  that,  wish- 
ing to  ask  questions  of  somebody.  He  was  tired 
of  trying  Miss  Mundy,  his  daily  governess.  She 
never  would  allow  any  break  in  her  regular  plan 
of  teaching,  and  at  the  beginning  and  end  of  the 
time  she  was  always  in  a  hurry. 

Yet,  being  a  shy  and  timid  boy,  he  dreaded 
greatly  the  time  when  his  quiet  little  governess 


Among  the  Stars. 


must  be  exchanged  for  a  stern  tutor.  For  of 
course  tutors  are  always  stern — so  thought  Ikon. 

It  was  a  lonely  life  that  he  led.  Few  people 
were  within  easy  distance  of  the  house,  and  those 
few  Ikon  scarcely  knew.  He  had  no  little  sisters 
and  no  little  friends.  His  chief  pleasures  were 
found  in  the  companionship  of  his  pet  dog,  and 
of  the  birds  and  plants  and  trees  in  the  garden. 
All  his  leisure  hours  were  spent  among  them,  ex- 
cept when  illness  kept  him  indoors. 

But  Ikon  had  one  pleasure  greater  than  even  these; 
and  that  was  in  the  companionship  of  the  stars. 

This  seems  an  odd  word  to  use  about  the  stars 
and  a  little  boy;  yet  in  a  sense  it  is  the  right  word. 
For  Ikon  loved  the  stars.  He  could  not  have  told 
the  time  when  first  he  began  to  love  the  stars. 
The  feeling  seemed  to  have  grown  upon  him  slowly, 
as  he  grew  up  out  of  babyhood. 

Even  as  a  tiny  child  he  had  delighted  to  gaze  on 
the  glittering  sky,  and  had  often  clapped  his  little 
hands  with  joy  at  the  sight. 

And  now  that  he  was  older,  he  hardly  ever  cared 
to  go  to  bed,  without  stealing  away  first  to  his  play- 
room window,  for  at  least  ten  minutes  of  looking  at 
the  stars.  A  cloudy  evening  was  always  a  sorrow 
to  Ikon. 


The  Star  that  could  not  be  Found.  5 

He  had  been  ill  lately,  and  for  a  month  past  the 
playroom  had  been  forbidden  ground.  For  it  was 
in  the  top  story,  and  even  with  a  fire  it  was  often 
chilly.  But  this  day  Dormer  had  at  last  granted 
leave. 

Then  it  was,  as  Ikon  knelt  on  the  low  window- 
seat,  with  eager  eyes  wandering  over  the  broad  reach 
of  starry  sky,  that  he  found  his  own  dear  star  to  be 
gone. 

He  could  not  have  told  why  he  loved  that  star  so 
much.  It  was  only  about  a  week  or  ten  days 
before  his  illness,  that  he  had  first  noticed  it,  shining 
over  the  distant  line  of  poplar  trees,  low  down  near 
the  horizon.  And  there  had  been  a  bout  of  fine 
weather  then,  so  he  had  seen  it  every  evening. 

But  now  it  was  quite  gone — a  lost  star.  None 
other  would  do  in  its  stead.  There  were  many  other 
stars  over  the  far-off  poplars,  but  not  one  so  bright 
and  soft  and  shining  as  this  particular  favorite. 

Tears  came  into  Ikon's  eyes.  He  was  really 
grieved,  really  distressed.  For  somehow  that  dear 
star  had  seemed  to  his  little  heart  to  smile  upon  him 
out  of  heaven,  and  had  made  him  think  of  the  mother 
whom  he  had  never  known.  And  this  was  the  fancy 
which  he  could  not  tell  to  Dormer;  for  Dormer  would 
not  have  understood  in  the  least  what  he  meant. 


Among1  the  Stars, 


So  Ikon  kept  his  little  fancy  to  himself.  But  after 
a  pause  he  asked: 

"  Dormer,  do  the  stars  ever  die  ?" 

Dormer  stared  at  the  child. 

"  Dear  me,  Master  Ikon,  you  do  have  the  oddest 
notions  ! " 

"  But  do  they  die  ?     Please  tell  me." 

"  I  shouldn't  think  so,"  said  Dormer.  "  Things  can't 
die  that  ain't  alive  to  begin  with.  It  is  time  you 
should  go  to  bed,  Master  Ikon." 

"  Just  a  minute,"  pleaded  Ikon.  "  I  want  to  know 
where  the  stars  all  go  every  day.  They  don't  all  die 
then,  of  course,  because  they  are  all  right  again  next 
evening." 

"  Of  course  they  don't,"  assented  Dormer. 

"  And  where  do  they  go,  Dormer  ?" 

"  They  go — why,  they  don't  go  anywhere,"  said 
Dormer. 

"  But  they  must,  if  they  aren't  here,"  said  Ikon, 
wrinkling  his  brow. 

"  O  well,  you'll  know  about  it  all  some  day,"  said 
Dormer.  "  I  wouldn't  worry  now.  Time  enough 
when  you  are  grown  up." 

"  Does  everybody  know  that  is  grown  up  ?  Does 
papa  ? " 

"Of  course  he  does.  What  a  question '."said  Dormer. 


The  Star  that  could  not  be  Found.  f 

Ikon  looked  brightened.  He  had  a  white  little  face, 
thin  from  recent  illness,  with  a  great  forehead,  and 
big  anxious  eyes. 

"  Do  you  think  I  might  ask  him  about  the  stars 
some  day  ?  Wouldn't  he  mind  ?  " 

"  I  shouldn't  think  he  would — if  you  choose  some 
time  when  he  isn't  bothered,"  said  Dormer. 

Ikon's  face  fell  again.  He  felt  that  this  might  not 
be  an  easy  choice. 

"  I  do  want  to  know  what  the  stars  are,"  he  mur- 
mured. "  What  they  really  are." 

"  That's  easy  enough.  They  are  stars,"  said 
Dormer. 

"  But,  Dormer,  don't  you  see  ?  stars  must  be — 
something"  said  Ikon,  in  rather  a  hesitating  voice. 
"I  want  to  know  what  they  are.  I  want  to  know 
why  they  twinkle  so;  and  why  some  of  them  don't. 
And  I  can't  think  why  they  should  be  so  bright." 

"  They  are  bright  because  they  shine,  I  suppose," 
said  Dormer,  folding  her  work. 

"  I  wish  I  knew  what  makes  them  shine." 

Dormer's  answer  this  time  was  triumphant. 

"Well,  Master  Ikon,  that  oughtn't  to  puzzle 
you,  anyway.  They  shine  because  they  are 
bright." 

Ikon  felt  the  matter  to  be  hopeless.     He  could  not 


8  Among  the  Stars. 

even   make   Dormer   understand   him.      It   was   ii 
rather  a  peevish  voice  that  he  said: 

"  You  don't  see  one  bit  what  I  mean.  Nobod; 
does.  And  I  do  want  so  much  to  know." 

"  Well,  you  must  have  a  little  patience,"  sai< 
Dormer,  rising.  "  People  can't  learn  everything  in  ; 
day — especially  when  they  are  ill." 

"  But  I'm  not  ill  now.  I  wish  you  wouldn't  talk  a 
if  I  was  always  ill,"  said  Ikon  fretfully.  "  Dormer,  d< 
you  think  the  stars  are  bigger  than  they  look  ? " 

"  It  don't  much  matter  if  they  are — so  long  as 
get  you  to  bed  in  good  time,"  said  Dormer. 

"  And  I  wonder  if  they  are  a  hundred  miles  away, 
continued  Ikon.  "  A  whole  hundred  miles,  Dormer  ! 

"  As  likely  as  not,"  said  Dormer  calmly. 


CHAPTER  II. 

WHAT  ABOUT  THE  STARS? 

IKON  lay  long  awake  that  night.  The  curtains  were 
drawn,  but  he  had  pulled  one  a  little  aside  before 
getting  into  bed.  And  through  a  single  pane  of  glass 
bright  starry  eyes  seemed  to  look  down  upon  him 
lovingly. 

"  Twinkle,  twinkle,  little  star, 

How  I  wonder  what  you  are  I 
Up  above  the  world  so  high, 
Like  a  diamond  in  the  sky." 

Ikon  smiled  as  the  old  nursery  rhyme  came  to 
him.  He  tried  to  remember  how  it  went  on,  and 
could  not. 

Somebody  else  besides  himself  had  plainly  been 
thinking  about  the  stars,  and  wishing  to  know  more 
about  them. 

"  How  I  wonder  what  you  are  !  "  he  whispered  two 
or  three  times. 

2 


IO  Among  the  Stars. 

The  words  seemed  to  soothe  him,  and  presently 
he  dropped  asleep. 

But  even  in  sleep  the  thought  of  his  dear  lost  star 
haunted  him. 

Ikon  dreamt  that  he  was  taking  a  journey  after 
this  star — a  strange  journey,  far  away  up  in  cloud- 
land,  through  the  dark  midnight  sky.  He  wondered, 
as  he  floated  along,  whether  he  should  find  the  lost 
star.  He  wondered  if  he  should  find  out,  too,  what 
the  stars  really  are. 

But  no;  he  could  learn  nothing  new  in  his  dream. 
Stars  were  around  him  everywhere;  bright  shining 
twinkling  points  of  light.  That  was  all.  He  did 
not  seem  to  get  any  nearer  to  them.  And  he  could 
not  see  his  own  soft  star.  He  would  have  known  it 
again  at  once,  if  he  had  seen  it  smiling  over  the  dis- 
tant poplars.  How  he  was  to  know  it  again  any- 
where else  was  another  question.  There  were  plenty 
of  stars  in  his  dream;  but  they  all  seemed  very  much 
alike.  The  child  sighed  as  he  floated  along,  and 
murmured  sadly: 

"Is  it  quite  quite  gone?  Do  the  poor  stars  die, 
after  all?" 

Ikon  woke  up  next  morning  with  a  resolution  in  his 
mind.  It  seemed  to  have  come  to  him  in  his  sleep. 


What  about  the  Stars?  il 

He  would  question  his  father  about  the  stars.  He 
would  find  out  what  they  really  were,  and  whether  a 
star  could  ever  die. 

When  his  father  was  at  home,  Ikon  generally  went 
to  him  in  the  dining-room  for  a  short  time  after  the 
late  dinner. 

It  was  a  very  silent  time  commonly.  Ikon's  father 
was  a  particularly  grave  and  silent  man;  very  fond 
of  his  little  boy,  no  doubt,  but,  as  a  rule,  extremely 
sparing  in  remarks  to  him  or  to  anybody. 

Ikon  himself  was  generally  much  too  shy  to  start 
any  conversation.  He  answered  if  he  were  spoken 
to,  and  that  was  all.  He  used  to  have  a  little 
dessert,  if  Dormer  had  given  him  leave.  Then  he 
and  his  father  generally  sat  in  the  library,  each 
reading  a  book,  till  it  was  time  for  Ikon  to  go  to 
bed. 

But  on  the  evening  of  this  day  Ikon  went  down- 
stairs brimful  of  his  new  resolution.  He  was  bent 
upon  putting  the  question  without  delay. 

It  happened  to  be  rather  a  fortunate  evening  for 
the  purpose.  Ikon's  father  seemed  to  be  less  wrapped 
up  in  his  own  thoughts  than  usual;  and  he  actually 
asked  the  little  boy  what  he  had  been  doing  all 
day. 

"  I  began  lessons  again  this  morning,  papa,"  Ikon 


12  Among  the  Stars. 

answered,  turning  first  hot  and  then  cold  with  the 
effort  to  be  brave.  "  Dormer  wouldn't  let  me  sooner." 

"  Ah,  well — Dormer  is  quite  right.  No  use  to  over- 
work yourself.  Dormer  knows  what  is  best  for  you. 
Have  a  fig,  my  boy  ? " 

"  No,  thank  you,  papa.     Dormer  says  I  mustn't." 

"  Dormer  knows  best,"  murmured  Ikon's  father. 
"  Do  as  she  tells  you,  my  dear.  She  is  an  excellent 
judge." 

The  voice  sounded  dreamy.  Ikon  felt  that  he  had 
no  time  to  lose.  Once  in  the  library,  he  would  have 
no  further  chance  of  attention. 

"  Papa, — "  and  he  faltered.  "  Please,  would  you 
mind  telling  me  something  ?" 

"  Certainly,  my  boy.    What  is  it  ?  " 

"Papa,  what  are  the  stars  ?  " 

"The  stars,  my  dear!  The  stars!"  said  Ikon's 
father,  in  astonishment. 

"Yes,  papa.  Please,  what  are  the  stars?"  re- 
peated Ikon,  quite  trembling. 

Now  it  happened  that  Ikon's  father,  though  a  very 
clever  and  learned  man,  had  never  cared  at  all  about 
the  stars,  had  never  troubled  himself  to  read  about 
them.  Had  Ikon  questioned  him  about  old  buildings, 
old  houses  and  castles,  old  pavements,  old  furniture, 
or  old  china,  he  would  have  had  plenty  to  say.  But 


What  about  the  Stars  ?  13 

with  respect  to  the  stars,  he  found  himself  quite  at 
a  loss.  And  odd  as  it  may  seem,  this  clever  and 
learned  gentleman  said  almost  exactly  the  same  as 
the  untaught  Dormer  had  done. 

"Why,  my  dear  boy,  what  an  odd  question!  They 
are — stars,  of  course." 

"Yes,  papa.  Only  I  do  want  to  know  what  they 
are  for." 

"They  serve  to  light  us  up  on  a  dark  night,"  said 
Ikon's  father. 

"And  are  they  meant  only  for  that?"  asked  Ikon. 

"  That — ahem — no  doubt — is  their  purpose,"  said 
his  father. 

"  And,  papa,  are  they  bigger  than  they  look  ?  " 

"No  doubt,  my  dear  boy,  no  doubt.  Considerably 
larger." 

"As  big  as  this  house,  papa  ?" 

"Well,  yes,  Ikon — considerably  bigger,  I  should 
say." 

"  And  do  the  stars  ever  die  ? "  asked  Ikon. 

"  The  stars  die  !  The  stars  die,  my  dear  boy !  "  re- 
peated Ikon's  father  in  a  very  puzzled  manner.  Then 
he  looked  at  the  child,  and  smiled,  and  finally  burst 
out  laughing.  "  I  beg  your  pardon,  Ikon — but  really 
— the  idea  of  a  star  dying — so  very  droll !  You  must 
not  be  offended,  my  boy.  Ha,  ha,  ha ! " 


14  Among  the  Stars. 

Ikon  was  not  offended,  but  his  feelings  were  hurt, 
and  tears  sprang  to  his  eyes. 

"  There,  there — never  mind,"  his  father  said  sooth- 
ingly. "  Here's  a  shilling  for  you  to  spend  on  any- 
thing you  like.  And  if  I  were  you  I  would  leave  the 
stars  alone  for  the  present.  You  are  a  little  boy, 
and  have  plenty  to  learn  in  other  ways." 

"  I  should  like  best  to  learn  about  the  stars,"  mur- 
mured Ikon. 

"  Perhaps  so.  Perhaps  so.  Astronomy  is  an 
interesting  subject,  doubtless.  But  reading  and 
spelling  are  at  present  more  important." 

"Papa,  I  can  read,  of  course,"  said  Ikon  rather  in- 
jured. "  And  spelling  has  been  quite  easy  for  ever  so 
long.  And  Miss  Mundy  is  going  to  let  me  begin 
Latin  declensions;  only  Dormer  doesn't  like  it." 

"  Well,  well,  my  dear  boy,  do  as  Dormer  wishes. 
She  is  an  excellent  caretaker,"  said  Ikon's  father, 
rising.  "  But  you  would  find  astronomy  more  tough 
than  Latin.  I  advise  you  to  leave  it  alone  for  the 
present." 

And  this  was  all  that  passed.  Ikon  was  sorely 
disappointed.  He  could  hardly  keep  back  his  tears, 
as  he  sat  in  the  library  over  a  book  which  he  tried  in 
vain  to  read. 

"  Dormer,  it's  no  use,"  he  said,  when  bedtime  came, 


What  about  the  Stars? 


"  I  have  asked  papa,  and  he  doesn't  seem  to  care 
about  the  stars,  and  he  says  I'm  too  little." 

"Just  what  I  told  you,"  Dormer  answered. 

But  she  could  not  bear  to  see  her  darling  unhappy. 
After  casting  about  in  her  mind  what  to  say  next, 
she  suddenly  put  down  her  work,  and  went  to  a 
small  book-case  in  the  corner. 

"Look  here,  Master  Ikon,"  she  said.  "Here's 
something  about  the  stars,  and  something  you  ain't 
too  little  for  either." 

And  coming  back  slowly,  she  began  to  read  aloud 
in  a  sing-song  voice — 

"Twinkle,  twinkle,  little  star, 
How  I  wonder — " 

"  Why,  that's  just  what  I  was  thinking  about  last 
night,"  cried  Ikon;  "and  I  couldn't  remember  how 
it  went  on. " 

He  listened  eagerly  as  Dormer  proceeded — 

"  what  you  are ! 
Up  above  the  world  so  high, 
Like  a  diamond  in  the  sky. 

11  When  the  blazing  sun  is  gone, 

When  he  nothing  shines  upon, 

Then  you  show  your  little  light, 

Twinkle,  twinkle,  all  the  night. 


16  Among  the  Stars. 

"Then  the  traveller  in  the  dark, 

Thanks  you  for  your  tiny  spark; 
He  could  not  tell  which  way  to  go; 
If  you  did  not  twinkle  so. 

"In  the  dark  blue  sky  you  keep, 

And  often  through  my  curtains  peep; 
For  you  never  shut  your  eye, 
Till  the  sun  is  in  the  sky. 

"As  your  bright  and  tiny  spark 

Lights  the  traveller  in  the  dark, 
Though  I  know  not  what  you  are, 
Twinkle,  twinkle,  little  star  I  " 

"  There  ! "  said  Dormer,  with  an  air  of  great  satis 
(action. 

"But,  Dormer,  that  doesn't  tell  me  anything,"  said 
Ikon.  "It  doesn't  say  why  the  stars  twinkle,  or  why 
they  go  away  in  the  daytime.  I  want  to  know 
whyfn 

11  If  that's  good  enough  to  be  put  in  a  book,  it's 
good  enough  for  you  and  me,"  said  Dormer,  rather 
severely. 


CHAPTER   III. 

FOLDED    WINGS. 

THE  very  next  day  Ikon's  father  said  to  him  at 
breakfast, — the  only  meal  which  the  two  regularly 
had  together: 

"  I  have  just  heard  from  an  old  friend  of  mine. 
He  is  coming  to  stay  here  for  a  short  time,  and  he 
will  be  able  to  tell  you  anything  you  wish  about  the 
stars." 

Ikon's  heart  bounded  with  pleasure,  and  he 
listened  eagerly  for  more. 

"  Herr  Lehrer,"  said  Ikon's  father  in  an  absent  tone. 

"  Papa,  is  that  his  name  ? "  asked  Ikon,  afraid  the 
information  was  coming  very  quickly  to  an  end. 

"  Lehrer — yes,  Lehrer,"  said  his  father. 

"  But,  papa,  you  called  him — " 

"  Yes,  my  dear." 

"  Hair!  "  said  Ikon,  in  a  puzzled  voice. 

"  Ah  yes,  mst  so.     Herr  Lehrer, — that  means  Mr 


1 8  Among  the  Stars. 

Lehrer.  He  is  a  German.  'Herr'  means  'Mr.,' 
my  boy.  But  he  likes  best  to  be  called  '  Herr'  or, 
'  Professor.'  Yes,  '  Professor '  does  as  well." 

This  was  quite  a  long  speech  for  Ikon's  father. 
He  went  deep  into  his  newspaper  at  once,  as  if 
afraid  of  having  to  say  any  more.  Ikon  dared  not 
put  further  questions. 

It  was  from  Dormer,  not  from  his  father,  that  he 
learnt  on  what  day  to  look  out  for  the  guest. 

When  that  day  came  he  did  look  out  in  good 
earnest.  All  the  afternoon  he  scarcely  stirred  from 
the  schoolroom  window.  Dormer  brought  her  work 
and  sat  there  with  him,  as  she  was  always  ready  to 
do.  Generally  he  spent  his  afternoons  in  the  garden, 
unless  it  rained,  and  then  he  would  be  happy  for 
hours  in  his  favourite  playroom.  There  were 
showers  to-day,  sufficient  to  keep  him  prisoner,  but 
he  would  not  go  to  his  playroom,  for  the  window 
there  did  not  command  a  view  of  the  drive  to  the 
front  door. 

"  I  wonder  what  rlerr  Lehrer  will  be  like,"  he  said 
again  and  again.  "  Papa  says  I  am  to  call  him  Herr 
Lehrer,  Dormer,  and  not  Mr.  Lehrer,  because  he  is 
a  German." 

"  It  don't  sound  sensible,"  said  Dormer.  "  '  Mr. 
is  good  enough  for  anybody." 


Folded   Wings.  ig 


"But  I  suppose  German  people  think  'Herr'  is 
prettier  than  'Mr.,'"  said  Ikon.  "Papa  says  he  is 
something  else  too— '  Professor ' — but  I  don't  know 
what  that  means.  I  wonder  whether  he  will  talk 
to  me." 

"  Not  much  good  if  he  talks  German  gibberish," 
said  Dormer. 

Ikon  was  dismayed.  This  difficulty  had  not 
occurred  to  him  before. 

"  I  shall  have  to  make  haste  and  learn  German," 
he  said  with  a  sigh.  "  But  perhaps  Herr  Lehrer 
knows  some  English  words.  I  think  he  must, 
because  papa  said  he  could  tell  me  about  the  stars; 
and  papa  knows  I  haven't  learnt  to  talk  German." 

After  long  waiting  the  Professor  arrived,  but  by 
that  time  it  had  become  so  dark  that  Ikon  could 
not  see  in  the  least  what  he  was  like.  The  utmost 
peering  proved  useless.  Nothing  remained  but  to 
muster  up  patience,  and  wait  till  evening. 

Then,  when  late  dinner  was  nearly  over,  and  the 
little  boy  stole  timidly  into  the  dining-room,  he 
found,  as  he  expected,  two  gentlemen  at  the  table 
instead  of  only  one.  This  was  quite  an  event,  for 
Ikon's  father  rarely  had  a  visitor. 

Another  unusual  event  was  that  Ikon's  father 
should  be  talking;  not  only  listening  to  the  Herr,  but 


2O  Among  the  Stars. 

actually  talking  too.  The  two  gentlemen  were  deep 
in  conversation;  so  deep  that  Ikon's  entrance  was 
at  first  quite  unnoticed. 

So  Ikon  had  time  to  examine  the  new-comer  at 
his  leisure. 

Herr  Lehrer,  though  a  German  by  birth,  spoke 
English  quite  well  and  easily.  This  was  a  great 
relief  to  Ikon's  mind.  Now  and  then  a  German 
accent  or  a  German  expression  came  in,  but  other- 
wise his  voice  might  almost  have  passed  for  that  of 
an  Englishman. 

He  had  a  square-shaped  German  head,  though  he 
was  not  generally  stout  in  build.  His  face  was 
quite  beautiful,  as  even  little  Ikon  could  see,  with  a 
rather  pale  skin,  and  a  full  forehead,  and  soft  shin- 
ing benevolent  eyes.  Ikon  thought  those  eyes  very 
like  stars.  Then  his  features  were  regular,  and 
might  have  belonged  to  almost  a  young  man;  yet, 
strange  to  say,  his  hair  was  grey,  and  he  had  a  long 
silvery  beard. 

Ikon  crept  to  the  table,  and  sat  down  in  his  usual 
seat  without  a  word.  He  did  not  in  the  least  expect 
his  father  to  notice  him  for  some  time,  and  he  was 
quite  content  to  sit  and  watch  those  soft  starry  eyes 
of  the  stranger.  But  suddenly  they  fell  upon  him, 
and  their  owner  said  quietly: 


Folded  Wings.  21 


11  Why,  here  is  a  little  meteorite  dropped  suddenly 
out  of  space." 

"My  little  son,"  said  Ikon's  father,  and  the  Pro- 
fessor took  the  child's  hand  into  a  warm  comfortable 
grasp. 

"  We  shall  be  friends  by-and-by,"  he  said,  smil- 
ing. 

Ikon's  father  pushed  some  figs  towards  him,  and 
the  two  gentlemen  continued  their  conversation.  It 
was  all  about  old  Roman  pavements  and  ancient 
crockery — things  which  Ikon  did  not  care  for  in  the 
least — and  he  could  make  nothing  of  it.  They 
talked  on,  nevertheless,  not  only  in  the  dining-room, 
but  also  later  in  the  study.  No  silent  reading  took 
place  as  usual.  Ikon  alone  had  a  book,  and  he  could 
not  give  attention  to  it. 

Presently  Ikon's  bed-time  drew  near,  and  all  at 
once  there  came  a  break  in  the  conversation.  Herr 
Lehrer  turned  round  towards  Ikon  and  remarked: 

"  This  is  a  very  silent  little  boy." 

"Ikon  never  has  much  to  say  for  himself," -his 
father  remarked. 

Dormer  might  perhaps  have  told  a  different  tale. 

"  Fond  of  books  ?"  said  Herr  Lehrer. 

"  Well,  yes— too  fond,"  said  Ikon's  father.  "  The 
doctor  says  he  ought  to  read  less  and  play  more." 


22  Among  the  Stars. 

"  He  looks — not  robust,"  said  Herr  Lehrer,  paus- 
ing for  a  word. 

Ikon  objected  very  much  to  being  made  the  sub- 
ject of  discussion,  and  wriggled.  The  two  gentlemen 
went  back  to  ancient  crockery,  and  not  a  word  more 
passed  with  reference  to  Ikon,  till  Dormer's  knock 
sounded  at  the  door. 

"Eh — what — bed-time?"  said  Ikon's  father. 
"  Why,  I  thought  we  had  only  just  done  dinner." 

Then,  as  Ikon  came  slowly,  book  in  hand,  to  say 
good-night,  he  observed: 

"Herr  Lehrer,  here  is  a  little  boy  who  wants  to 
know  what  the  stars  are  made  of." 

Ikon  hung  his  head,  and  felt  much  inclined  to  run 
away.  But  Herr  Lehrer  laid  gentle  hold  on  him, 
drew  him  between  his  two  knees,  and  looked  at  the 
child  with  extreme  kindness. 

"  So  ! "  he  said,  with  his  slightly  foreign  accent. 
That  one  syllable, "  So  !  "  pronounced  in  every  variety 
of  tone,  was  the  most  German  thing  about  him 
"  You  want  to  know  what  the  stars  are  made  of  ? ' 

Ikon  plucked  up  courage. 

"  I  didn't  say  exactly  that,"  he  answered.  "  I 
wanted  to  know  what  the  stars  really  are,  and  what 
they  are  for." 

"  So ! "    repeated    the    Professor,    smiling    more 


Folded   Wings.  23 


broadly.  "You  want  to  know  what  the  stars  really 
are  ?  That  is  a  pretty  big  question.  And  what 
they  are  for  ?  That  is  a  bigger." 

"  More  in  your  line  than  mine,  Professor,"  said 
Ikon's  father,  who  seemed  quite  lively  this  evening. 

"Just  so,"  said  Herr  Lehrer.  "This  is  pretty 
well  for  the  knickerbocker  age.  Is  there  anything 
else  that  this  little  boy  desires  to  know  ? " 

Ikon  crimsoned,  but  felt  that  it  was  now  or  never. 
Dormer's  knock  sounded  again,  and  he  grew  des- 
perate. 

"  Please,"  he  said.     "  O  yes,  please — " 

"  Speak  calmly,  my  child.  The  world  is  probably 
not  coming  to  an  end  this  very  instant,"  said  Herr 
Lehrer  in  a  gentle  voice. 

Ikon  was  far  too  eager  for  deliberate  speech. 

"  Please,  can  you  tell  me  ? "  he  asked.  "  Oh,  I  do 
want  to  know  where  the  stars  are  all  gone  every  day, 
and  what  makes  them  shine.  And  I  want  to  know 
why  some  twinkle,  and  why  some  don't.  And  I 
can't  think  where  my  own  star  went,  and  perhaps 
you  could  find  out.  And,  please,  do  the  stars  ever 
die  ? " 

The  Professor  sat  still,  looking  at  the  child.  Ikon's 
chest  was  quite  heaving  with  excitement,  and  his 
great  eyes  shone,  not  like  stars,  but  like  fiery  coals. 


24  Among  the  Stars. 

Dormer  knocked  again;  this  time  impatiently. 

"  Is  that  the  summons  for  the  little  knickerbockers 
to  go  to  bed  ? "  asked  Herr  Lehrer  slowly.  "  I 
think  we  might  be  permitted  one  more  five  minutes, 
my  friend." 

"  Certainly,"  said  Ikon's  father;  and  he  went  to 
the  door,  and  spoke  in  a  tone  of  apology. 

Ikon  overheard  a  little  mutter,  but  Dormer  went 
away. 

The  Professor  still  gazed  at  Ikon  earnestly.  Then, 
with  his  soft  warm  palm,  he  measured  the  width  of 
the  child's  forehead. 

"  Yes,  there  are  brains  here,"  he  said.  "  There 
is  thought.  There  are  folded  Wings  of  Imagina- 
tion." 

But  no  answer  had  come  to  the  questions,  and 
Ikon's  eyes  grew  beseeching. 

"  I  cannot  tell  you  everything  in  five  minutes,  my 
child,"  said  the  Professor.  "These  are  large  subjects 
that  you  have  brought  before  me.  What  say  you, 
little  Ikon  ?  Shall  you  and  I  pay  some  visits  to  the 
stars,  while  I  am  here  ? " 

Ikon's  look  was  of  eager  response. 

"  Really— truly  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  On  the  Wings  of  Imagination,"  said  the  Professor. 
"  Wonderful  journeys  may  thus  be  taken." 


Folded   Wings.  25 


"  Children  never  understand,"  murmured  Ikon's 
father.  "  He  will  claim  a  literal  fulfilment  of  your 
proposal." 

"  Papa,  I  do  understand,"  said  Ikon,  almost  indig- 
nantly. "  I  know  what  imagination  means.  Dormer 
often  says  I've  got  '  such  an  imagination.'  And  of 
course  I  know  we  can't  truly  go  to  the  stars.  But  I 
wanted  to  know  if  Mr.  Herr  really — " 

"  Herr  Lehrer,  my  dear,"  said  his  father,  for  Ikon 
was  growing  confused. 

"  Really  meant  it,"  concluded  Ikon. 

"  You  and  I  will  take  those  journeys  in  company," 
said  the  Professor. 

"  And  will  you  tell  me  all  about  the  stars  ? "  asked 
Ikon. 

"  I  will  tell  you  some  things." 

"  Whether  they  ever  die  ?  "  asked  Ikon. 

"  What  makes  you  ask  that  question  ? "  inquired 
the  Professor. 

"  My  star  has  gone,"  said  Ikon,  shyness  vanishing 
under  great  eagerness.  "  I  can't  think  where.  And 
Dormer  says  stars  can't  die  because  they  are  never 
alive.  But  I  don't  think  Dormer  really  knows  about 
it.  And  she  says  it  wouldn't  matter  if  a  star  did 
die,  because  there  are  plenty  more.  But  I  should 
be  so  sorry." 

3 


26  Among  the  Stars. 

"  I  think  it  would  matter,"  said  the  Professor. 
"  It  would  matter  to  One  above,  Ikon." 

Ikon  gazed  wistfully  in  the  face  of  his  new 
friend. 

"You  know  who  made  the  stars?"  said  Herr 
Lehrer. 

"  Dormer  says  God  did." 

"  Dormer  says  !  But  look  for  yourself.  Look  in 
the  first  chapter  of  your  Bible,  before  you  go  to  bed 
HE  cares  for  the  stars,  my  child." 

Ikon  had  grown  very  thoughtful. 

"  That  will  do  now.  It  is  growing  late,"  the 
Professor  said,  softly  patting  Ikon's  cheek.  "  To- 
morrow you  shall  tell  me  about  the  star  that  is  gone. 
Good-night." 

"  And  will  you  come  to  my  playroom  ? "  asked  Ikon 
anxiously.  "  It's  the  very  best  view  of  the  stars  in 
all  the  house." 

"  Then  that  shall  be  our  observatory,"  said  Herr 
Lehrer. 

Ikon  went  straight  upstairs,  and  hardly  heard  the 
complaint  with  which  Dormer  received  him.  He 
walked  to  a  little  side-table,  and  opened  the  Bible 
which  lay  there — his  mother's  own  Bible. 

"  What  are  you  doing  now,  Master  Ikon  ? "  asked 
Dormer. 


Folded   Wings.  27 


"  I'm  looking  for  something  about  the  stars,"  said 
Ikon  dreamily. 

Dormer  gave  him  a  look.  Then  she  sat  down 
quietly,  and  waited. 

Two  or  three  minutes  passed  in  silence,  before 
Ikon  exclaimed: 

"  I've  got  it  !  " 

Dormer  was  silent  still.  He  rushed  across  the 
room  to  her  side,  with  the  open  Bible  in  his  arms. 

"Dormer,  here  it  is.    Look!     Here  it  is! — 

"  '  HE  MADE  THE  STARS  ALSO.' " 

"Didn't  you  know  that  before,  Master  Ikon?" 
asked  Dormer  gravely. 

"I  don't  know.  I  didn't  think,"  said  Ikon. 
"  Dormer,  Herr  Lehrer  says  it  would  matter  if  a  star 
were  to  die.  He  says  it  would  matter  to  God,  be- 
cause God  made  the  stars  and  so  He  cares." 

Dormer  seemed  to  have  no  wish  to  defend  her 
own  view  of  the  case.  She  only  said: 

"  Hadn't  you  better  go  to  bed  now,  Master  Ikon, 
dear?" 


CHAPTER  IV. 

HOW  STARS  RISE  AND  SET.  ' 

"  IT  was  over  there,"  said  Ikon. 

Evening  had  come  round  again,  and  Ikon  was  in 
his  playroom;  not  alone,  however,  for  the  Professor 
was  there  also. 

All  day  Herr  Lehrer  had  been  busy  one  way  and 
another.  Ikon  almost  thought  that  the  promised 
talk  about  the  stars  was  quite  forgotten  by  him. 
But  after  Ikon's  tea,  and  before  the  late  dinner  ot 
the  gentlemen,  he  suddenly  appeared  in  Ikon's 
favourite  room. 

It  was  a  clear  bright  night,  and  the  sky  was 
covered  with  twinkling  stars. 

In  a  very  few  minutes  Ikon  was  talking  quite 
easily  and  freely  of  his  dear  lost  star.  Herr  Lehrer 
put  out  the  candle,  and  drew  up  the  blind.  Then 
he  sat  down  close  to  the  window,  with  the  child 
beside  him. 


How  Stars  Rise  and  Set.  29 

"  It  was  over  there,"  repeated  Ikon.  "  Over  in  that 
direction — just  where  there  are  two  little  hills  a  great 
way  off,  and  some  trees  between.  You  can't  see 
now,  but  the  trees  are  poplars;  and  the  star  always 
shone  over  those  poplars." 

"  Always  ?"  said  Herr  Lehrer  in  a  gentle  voice. 

"  I  mean  always  for  a  whole  week,"  said  Ikon.  "I 
used  to  look  every  evening  before  I  went  to  bed,  and 
it  was  always  there." 

"  Exactly  in  the  same  spot,  my  boy  ?  " 

"  It  looked  like  the  same,"  said  Ikon.  "Just  over 
where  the  poplars  are.  And  I  liked  that  star  so 
much.  It  twinkled  and  looked  so  bright.  I  used  to 
think  it  was  smiling.  And  then  I  was  ill,  and  Dormer 
kept  me  in  bed  nearly  a  fortnight,  and  for  a  whole 
month  she  wouldn't  let  me  come  to  my  playroom, 
because  she  thought  I  might  feel  cold  up  here.  It 
isn't  really  cold,  but  Dormer  is  always  so  frightened. 
It  was  so  dull,  having  only  the  old  nursery  to  play 
in,  because  I  keep  all  my  best  things  up  here,  and 
of  course  I  am  too  old  now  for  the  nursery.  And  I 
did  want  to  come  and  look  at  my  star." 

"  You  did  not  think  of  looking  out  of  another 
window  below  this  one  ?  "  said  Herr  Lehrer. 

"No,"  Ikon  answered,  in  a  tone  which  showed 
that  the  idea  had  not  occurred  to  him.  "  I  never 


3d  Among  the  Stars. 

did.  And  when  Dormer  let  me  come  here  for  a 
peep,  because  I  begged  her,  the  star  was  gone." 

"  You  are  sure  ?  "  the  Professor  said. 

"  O,  quite  sure!  There  were  ever  so  many  little 
stars,  but  not  one  like  my  beautiful  big  star." 

Herr  Lehrer  seemed  to  be  considering. 

"  A  month  ago  or  more,"  he  murmured.  "  West 
—north-west — west — yes.  The  star  may  probably 
have  been  Arcturus." 

"  Arcturus  !  "  repeated  Ikon. 

"  That  is  the  name  of  a  beautiful  star,  which  per- 
haps might  have  been  thereabouts — somewhere  about 
a  month  ago,  near  the  time  of  your  going  to  bed," 
said  Herr  Lehrer.  "  But  Arcturus  is  not  dead." 

"  Is  Arcturus  the  name  of  my  star  ? "  asked  the 
child  wonderingly. 

"  I  cannot  be  absolutely  sure,  Ikon.  Your  de- 
scriptions are  a  little  vague.  But  I  think  we  may 
fairly  conclude  that  it  was  in  all  probability  Arcturus." 

"  And  is  that  a  big  star  ? "  asked  Ikon. 

"  It  is  one  of  the  brighter  stars — what  I  should 
call  a  star  of  the  first  magnitude." 

"  Doesn't  magnitude  mean  bigness  ? "  asked 
Ikon. 

"It  does,  really.  But  in  speaking  of  the  stars  we 
mean  brightness  more  than  bigness." 


How  Stars  Rise  and  Set.  31 

"  And  my  star  hasn't  died,"  said  Ikon  in  a  satisfied 
tone. 

"No,"  said  the  Professor.  "When  you  missed  your 
favourite  star  from  over  the  poplars,  it  had  only  gone 
down  below  the  horizon,  out  of  sight.  Did  you  not 
know  that  the  stars  rise  and  set  just  as  the  sun  rises 
and  sets  ?" 

Ikon  shook  his  head. 

"I  thought  the  stars  were  always  exactly  the  same," 
he  said.  "  Somebody  once  told  me  that  the  stars  are 
called  '  fixed  stars,'  and  that  is  because  they  never 
move." 

"  Somebody  explained  himself  rather  badly/'  said 
the  Professor.  "  Have  you  never  missed  any  other 
stars  from  particular  parts  of  the  heavens  ? " 

"  No,"  said  Ikon.     "  Only  my  own  pet  star." 

"  You  must  observe  a  little  more  closely  in  future. 
Now  listen  to  me,  my  child.  Of  course  you  know 
that  the  sun  rises  and  sets  every  day.  That  is  to 
say,  he  seems  to  come  up  above  the  horizon  in  the 
morning,  seems  to  pass  over  a  portion  of  our  sky,  and 
seems  to  go  down  below  the  horizon  in  the  evening.'1 

"  Yes — he  does"  said  Ikon  wonderingly.  "  The  sun 
rises  in  the  east  and  sets  in  the  west.  I  know  that." 

"  He  seems  to  act  thus,"  said  Herr  Lehrer.  "Prac- 
tically he  so  does — to  us." 


32  Among  the  Stars. 

"  But  why  do  you  call  it  'seems' ?"  asked  Ikon. 

"  The  moon  also  rises  and  sets,"  said  Herr  Lehrer, 
passing  over  this  question.  "Her  movements,  how- 
ever, are  more  perplexing,  so  we  will  let  her  alone 
just  now.  You  quite  understand  that  the  sun  rises 
every  morning  and  sets  every  evening,  rising  in  the 
east  and  setting  in  the  west.  The  stars,  too,  seem 
to  rise  in  the  east  and  set  in  the  west." 

"  Don't  they  really  ? "  asked  Ikon. 

"  As  much  as  the  sun  does,"  said  Herr  Lehrer. 
"  Stars  are  rising  and  setting  through  every  hour 
of  the  night  and  the  day.  But  it  is  only  when 
the  sun  has  set  that  we  begin  to  see  them  rise  and 
set." 

"  I  never  thought  before  about  stars  rising  or  set- 
ting," said  Ikon. 

"  If  you  had  watched  your  star  long  enough,  you 
would  have  seen  it  slowly  sink  down  behind  the 
poplar  trees,"  said  Herr  Lehrer. 

"  And  wouldn't  it  ever  have  come  up  again  ? " 

"  Yes,  next  day.  Not  over  the  poplar  trees,  but  in 
quite  another  part  of  the  sky.  Then  it  would  have 
passed  over  the  heavens  and  gone  down  again  behind 
the  poplar  trees." 

"  But  I  don't  understand  why  I  can't  see  it  there 
now  in  the  evenings,"  said  Ikon. 


How  Stars  Rise  and  Set.  33 

"  This  little  brain  must  have  patience,"  said  Herr 
Lehrer.  "I  cannot  explain  everything  all  in  a  mo- 
ment. The  reason  is  that  each  day  the  stars  seem 
slightly  to  shift  their  places,  so  to  speak,  and  go  down 
just  a  very  few  minutes  sooner  than  the  evening 
before.  In  one  week  the  difference  is  not  so  great 
that  you  might  not  have  seen  your  star  each  even- 
ing, somewhere  not  far  over  the  poplars.  Perhaps, 
without  knowing  it,  you  went  a  little  earlier  to  look 
the  last  part  of  the  week  than  the  first  part.  But  a 
whole  month  would  make  much  difference.  Your 
star  would  have  set  some  time  before  that  hour, 
when  at  the  month's  end  you  looked  anew." 

"  I  wish  I  could  quite  understand,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Believe  that  it  is  so,  my  boy;  the  how  and  the 
why  must  come  later.  I  want  you  now  to  see 
clearly  that  the  stars  do  truly  seem  to  rise  and  to  set 
every  day,  even  as  the  sun  seems  to  rise  and  to  set." 

"  But  why  do  you  call  it  seems  ?  "  asked  Ikon  again. 
"  Don't  they  really  ?" 

""Yes,  and  no,"  Herr  Lehrer  answered.  "This  is 
puzzling,  is  it  not  ?  They  do  rise,  and  yet  they  do 
not.  They  do  set,  and  yet  they  do  not." 

Ikon  sighed. 

"  Let  us  consider  the  matter,"  said  the  Professor 
slowly.  "The  sun  rises  and  sets.  So  do  the  stars," 


34  Among  the  Stars. 

"  But  you  said  they  didn't." 

"They  do  rise,  Ikon,  to  you  and  me.  They 
rise  upon  you  and  me.  It  is  no  untruth  to 
say  that  the  sun  rises  and  sets,  for  he  does  rise 
and  set.  So  also  with  the  stars.  Yet  at  the 
same  time,  and  with  equal  truth,  we  may  say  that 
the  sun  and  the  stars  do  not  rise  or  set.  For  that 
which  we  rightly  call  their  'rising*  and  'setting* 
is  not  caused  by  any  movements  of  their  own." 

"  Doesn't  the  sun  go  across  the  sky  every  day  ? '» 
asked  Ikon. 

"  He  seems  to  travel  thus,"  Herr  Lehrer  answered. 
"It  is  only  in  seeming.  He  does  rise  upon  us;  but 
that  rising  is  brought  about  by  the  earth's  move- 
ment, not  by  the  sun's  movement.  The  stars  too 
rise  upon  us.  But  their  rising  is  caused  by  the 
earth's  movement,  not  by  the  stars'  own  movements." 

"I  don't  think  I  know  what  you  mean,"  said  Ikon 
rather  hopelessly. 

"  Did  you  ever  spin  round  and  round  very  fast,  till 
it  seemed  to  you  as  if  the  walls  of  the  room  and  the 
pictures  and  furniture  were  all  moving  ? " 

"O  yes,"  Ikon  said,  brightening.  "It  makes  me 
feel  quite  giddy." 

"Without  the  giddiness,  that  is  what  happens  to 
us.  Our  world  is  ever  spinning  rapidly  round  and 


How  Stars  Rise  and  Set.  35 

round,  like  a  top.  This  spinning  movement  makes 
it  seem  to  us  as  if  the  sun  and  the  stars  were  always 
travelling  round  and  round  the  earth.  But  the  sun 
and  stars  have  no  such  movements  in  reality. 
Therefore  I  say  that  they  do  not  actually  rise  and 
set.  The  rising  and  the  setting  are  entirely  brought 
about  by  the  quick  whirl  of  our  own  earth." 

"  It  is  very  funny,"  said  Ikon.  "  I  don't  feel  at  all 
as  if  I  was  turning  round  and  round." 

"No;  because  everything  on  the  earth  around  you 
is  carried  along  at  the  same  speed  as  yourself.  Also, 
there  are  no  jolts  or  noises  to  startle  you.  All  the 
earth's  movements  are  perfectly  silent  and  perfectly 
even." 

Neither  spoke  for  a  minute  or  two.  Ikon  seemed 
intent  on  his  own  thoughts. 

"  Now  I  must  dress  for  dinner,"  the  Professor  said 
presently.  "  But  come  into  my  room  for  a  minute; 
I  wish  to  show  you  some  stars  which  cannot  be  seen 
at  this  side  of  the  house." 

Ikon  gladly  obeyed.  Herr  Lehrer  pulled  up  the 
blind,  put  out  the  two  candles  which  stood  ready 
lighted,  and  drew  Ikon  into  the  large  bow-window. 

"  See,"  he  said.  "  Has  anybody  ever  pointed  out  to 
you  the  Great  Bear  ?  " 

"  The  Great  Bear  !     O  yes,"  said  Ikon.     "  Dormer 


36  Among  the  Stars. 

shows  me  the  Great  Bear  sometimes;  but  I  don't 
think  it  is  like  a  real  bear.  There's  a  picture  of  a 
bear  in  a  book  downstairs,  and  the  stars  are  dotted 
over  it.  But  I  can't  see  it  look  like  a  bear  in  the 
sky.  I  can  only  see  seven  stars." 

"  Seven  chief  stars,  and  many  fainter  ones,"  said 
Herr  Lehrer.  "  The  outline  of  the  bear  in  your 
picture  is  of  course  imaginary.  It  is  rather  curious 
that  the  ancients  should  have  called  this  group  by 
the  name  of  '  Bear,'  since  the  real  bear  has  almost 
no  tail,  and  those  three  stars  make  a  long  tail.  Now 
can  you  show  me  the  Little  Bear  ? " 

"  No,"  said  Ikon.  "  Dormer  knew  that  there  was 
&  Little  Bear,  but  she  couldn't  find  it." 

"  Look  first  at  the  two  bright  stars  in  the  body  of 
the  Great  Bear,  farthest  away  from  his  tail.  Those 
two  stars  are  called  the  Pointers,  for  they  point  in 
almost  a  straight  line  to  the  pole-star,  which  forms 
the  tip  of  the  Little  Bear's  tail.  Follow  a  straight 
line  from  the  pointers — in  that  direction — and  you 
come  to  the  Little  Bear.  Seven  chief  stars  again, 
four  to  the  body,  and  three  to  the  tail;  but  some  of 
them  are  faint,  and  not  so  quickly  seen  as  those  of 
the  Great  Bear." 

"  Oh,  but  I  see  !  Two — four — six — seven,"  said 
Ikon. 


How  Stars  Rise  and  Set.  37 

"  The  little  star  at  the  end  of  the  tail  is  important. 
It  is  called,  as  I  just  now  observed,  the  Pole-star 
That  star  lies  very  nearly  above  the  North  Pole 
of  our  earth.  If  you  were  standing  at  the  North 
Pole,  you  would  look  up  and  see  the  Pole-star  just 
over  your  head.  In  old  days,  before  the  mariner's 
compass  was  invented,  the  Pole-star  was  most  use- 
ful to  sailors;  for  by  it  they  could  always  tell  where 
the  north  lay." 

"But  they  couldn't  tell  when  the  Pole-star  was 
set,"  said  Ikon. 

"  The  Pole-star  never  does  set  to  people  in  the 
northern  parts  of  the  earth,"  said  Herr  Lehrer. 

"  Doesn't  it  ?  Then  all  the  stars  don't  set,"  said 
Ikon  thoughtfully. 

"No;  not  all.  Some  stars  never  set  to  people 
living  in  England,  and  other  stars  never  rise  to  them. 
The  Pole-star  is  always  above  the  horizon,  to  us. 
The  Southern  Cross  is  never  above  it,  to  us.  Sailors 
in  the  northern  parts  of  the  earth  always  had  the 
sun  by  day  and  the  Pole-star  by  night  to  guide  them 
— except  in  cloudy  weather;  and  then  they  were  in 
a  sad  case.  Don't  you  remember  in  the  story  of  St. 
Paul's  shipwreck,  how  this  want  was  felt  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Ikon,  looking  up  in  Herr  Lehrer's  face. 

"I  would  read  my  Bible  somewhat  more,  if  I  were 


38  Among  the  Stars. 

you,"  said  the  Professor  gently.  "  It  is  in  the  last 
chapters  of  Acts.  You  will  find  how  he  who 
described  the  event  said:  '  When  neither  sun  nor 
stars  in  many  days  appeared,  and  no  small  tempest 
lay  on  us,  all  hope  that  we  should  be  saved  was  then 
taken  away.'" 

"  But  it  isn't  so  bad  for  sailors  now  in  cloudy 
weather,"  said  Ikon. 

"  No;  for  they  now  have  the  guiding  compass." 

"  Doesn't  the  Pole-star  move  at  all  ? "  asked  Ikon. 
"  I  mean — doesn't  it  seem  to  move  ?  " 

"  Only  round  and  round  in  a  very  tiny  circle. 
Other  stars  go  round  the  Pole-star  in  bigger  circles. 
Those  which  lie  nearest  never  set  to  us  who  are  in 
England.  The  Great  Bear,  for  instance,  does  not 
set.  Stars  placed  farther  off  from  the  Pole-star, 
moving  round  in  still  larger  circles,  dip  more  and 
more  below  the  horizon,  for  longer  and  longer  por- 
tions of  the  twenty-four-hours — and  then  it  is  that 
we  speak  of  their  rising  and  setting.  But  I  must 
try  to  make  this  more  clear  to  you  another  day." 


CHAPTER  V. 

STARS   IN  DAYLIGHT. 

"  Do  you  think  you  can  manage  a  good  walk  this 
morning,  Ikon  ? "  asked  the  Professor  next  day. 

"  O  yes.     I  should  like  it  so  much,"  Ikon  replied. 

"  I  want  to  take  you  to  an  old  friend  of  mine  liv- 
ing near  here,  and  ask  him  to  show  you  something." 

Ikon  thought  it  strange  that  Herr  Lehrer  should 
have  an  old  friend  just  in  that  neighbourhood;  and 
he  wondered  greatly  what  the  "something"  might 
be. 

He  hoped  that  Herr  Lehrer  might  begin  again 
about  the  stars  on  the  way.  Bnt  instead  of  this 
they  only  talked  of  flowers  and  birds,  till  the  house 
was  reached  where  the  Professor's  friend  lived. 

Ikon  had  many  times  seen  the  house  before, 
though  he  had  never  been  inside  it. 

They  did  not  go  inside  now.  Herr  Lehrer  led 
Ikon  through  part  of  the  garden,  and  soon  they  came 


40  Among  the  Stars. 

upon  what  looked  like  a  round  wooden  summer- 
house,  having  a  dome-shaped  roof. 

"  This  is  my  friend's  little  observatory,"  said  the 
Herr.  "  Have  you  ever  seen  a  telescope,  Ikon  ? " 

"  O  yes,"  Ikon  answered.  "  There's  a  sailor  who 
has  one,  and  he  lets  me  look  in  it  sometimes.  And 
it  makes  the  ships — oh,  so  big  !  " 

"  My  friend  here  has  a  telescope  for  looking  at 
stars  instead  of  ships,"  said  Herr  Lehrer. 

"Is  it  inside  there  ? "  asked  Ikon. 

"  It  is  inside  there." 

Ikon  gazed  wistfully  up. 

"  But  there  are  no  stars  now,"  he  murmured.  "  It 
is  all  blue  sky.  Oh,  I  do  wish  it  was  night." 

The  Professor  pushed  open  a  little  door  and 
entered  the  dome-roofed  observatory.  There  was 
not  much  space  inside.  A  large  telescope  occupied 
the  centre,  and  many  queer-shaped  articles  lay 
about,  very  puzzling  to  Ikon.  Herr  Lehrer's  old 
friend  proved  to  be  a  young-looking  man,  seated  at 
a  tiny  table  fixed  against  the  wall.  Ikon  was  quite 
startled  to  see  him,  he  was  so  small  and  thin  and 
pale.  But  at  the  sight  of  Herr  Lehrer  his  face 
broke  into  a  glowing  smile. 

"  Ah,  my  friend  ! "  he  said  joyously.  "  We  did 
not  half  finish  our  talk  yesterday." 


Stars  in  Daylight.  41 

"And  I  cannot  stay  to  finish  it  to-day,  Fritz," 
Herr  Lehrer  answered.  "  But  I  want  this  little  boy 
to  see  something  for  five  minutes,  if  we  do  not  in- 
terrupt you." 

The  two  spoke  together  softly,  and  Ikon's  eyes 
wandered  eagerly  up  and  down  the  tube  of  the  big 
telescope.  Then  Fritz  stepped  forward,  and  began 
doing  something  to  the  telescope.  He  consulted  a 
book,  and  he  moved  the  tube,  and  he  looked  into  it. 

All  this  while  he  had  not  troubled  himself  to  shake 
hands  with  Ikon.  He  seemed  quite  full  of  his  other 
visitor. 

"  Are  we  going  to  look  at  the  sun  ? "  asked  Ikon. 

"  No,  my  boy.  We  are  going  to  look  at  the 
stars,"  said  Herr  Lehrer. 

Ikon's  surprise  may  be  imagined.  For  bright  sun- 
shine lay  outside,  and  a  blue  starless  sky. 

"  But  it  isn't  night,  and  the  stars  are  all  set,  he  said. 

"  Not  all,"  said  the  Professor.  "  Some  stars  have 
set,  and  others  have  risen.  Stars  are  rising  and 
setting  all  day  as  well  as  all  night." 

Ikon  stared  hard  through  the  opening  in  the  roof. 

"  I  can't  see  them,"  he  said. 

"  Now  will  you  look,"  said  Fritz,  rising.  "  Make 
taste." 

Ikon  obeyed  in  a  great  hurry.     And  there,  sure 


42  Among  the  Stars. 

enough,  despite  the  daylight  around,  he  saw  quite 
plainly  one  tiny  pale  star. 

"  Oh  !  Oh  !  Oh  !  "  he  almost  gasped.  "  But  is  that 
a  real  star  up  in  the  sky  ?  " 

"That  is  a  real  star  in  the  sky,"  said  Herr 
Lehrer. 

"  Oh,  it's  going — it's  going — it's  gone  !  "  cried  Ikon 
"  What  does  make  it  run  away  so  fast  ? " 

Herr  Lehrer  put  the  little  boy  aside,  peeped 
through  the  eye-piece,  stirred  the  great  tube  slightly, 
and  beckoned  Ikon  back.  There  once  more  was  the 
pale  star;  and  again  it  quickly  passed  on  and 
vanished. 

"  Why  doesn't  it  stop  in  the  telescope  ? "  asked 
Ikon. 

"Because,"  said  the  Professor,  "it  is  not  in  the 
telescope  but  in  the  sky." 

"  But  I  mean — "  said  Ikon.  "  I  don't  see  why  it 
goes  on." 

"  The  stars  all  go  on,"  said  the  Professor.  "  Night 
and  day  alike.  That  seeming  movement  never  stops, 
for  it  is  caused  by  the  whirl  of  our  own  earth.  Have 
you  forgotten  what  I  told  you  yesterday  evening?  " 

"  O  no,"  Ikon  answered.  "  Only  the  stars  in  the 
real  sky  don't  gallop  away  so  fast." 

"  This  is  a  star  in  the  real  sky,"  said  the  Professor, 


IX    MR.    FRITZ'S    OBSERVATORY. 


STARS. 


p.  42. 


Stars  in  Daylight.  43 

smiling.  "  But  the  field  of  view  in  the  telescope  is 
very  small,  and  the  star  soon  passes  beyond  it.  And 
the  same  power  which  magnifies  the  star,  bringing 
it  as  it  were  nearer  to  us,  magnifies  also  the  move- 
ment of  the  star,  making  it  seem  to  go  faster." 

"  I  wish  I  could  see  the  star  without  the  telescope," 
said  Ikon.  "  Why  can't  I  ?  Are  there  any  other 
stars  beside  this  one  ? " 

"  Quite  as  many  as  at  night,"  said  Herr  Lehrer. 

"  But  why  don't  we  see  them  ? " 

'•  Did  you  ever  take  a  lighted  candle  into  bright 
sunshine,  and  notice  the  appearance  of  the  flame  ? " 

"  O  yes,"  replied  Ikon.  "  I  did  only  a  little  while 
ago,  and  the  flame  was  so  pale  and  fady — hardly  any 
light  at  all." 

"Just  so,"  the  Professor  said.  "That  candle 
flame  would  shine  far  on  a  dark  night;  but  in  the 
sunlight,  you  would  not  even  see  it  at.  a  very  little 
distance.  And  the  shining  of  the  stars  is  very  clear 
in  hours  of  darkness;  but  when  the  sun  is  up  their 
faint  glimmer  cannot  be  perceived.  The  stars  are 
always  there,  Ikon;  and  but  for  the  brighter  light 
of  the  sun  we  might  always  see  them." 

"  Is  the  Great  Bear  there  now  ? "  asked  Ikon. 

"  Yes.  It  is  only  hidden  by  a  veil  of  sunbeams," 
said  Herr  Lehrer. 


44  Among  the  Stars. 

"  And  the  Pole-star.  I  wish  I  could  see  the  Pole- 
star  through  the  telescope,"  said  Ikon. 

"  There  is  no  difficulty,"  remarked  Fritz. 

The  book  was  consulted  again,  and  the  telescope 
was   adjusted   anew.     Very  soon   the  young   ma 
said: 

"  Now ! " 

And  Ikon  speedily  had  his  eye  in  the  right  place. 
This  time  the  star  was  even  paler  and  fainter  than 
the  last.  Still  it  was  quite  plainly  visible.  Ikon 
watched  steadily  for  some  seconds. 

"Is  that  really  the  Pole-star?"  he  asked.  "I 
can't  see  the  rest  of  the  Little  Bear." 

"  The  other  stars  are  too  distant  from  it  to  be  seen 
at  the  same  time,"  said  Herr  Lehrer.  "  Yes,  that 
is  the  Pole-star,  Ikon." 

"  But  I  don't  see  how  you  could  find  it,"  said  Ikon 
anxiously  to  the  young  man. 

Fritz  bit  a  pencil,  and  then  answered: 

"  I  know  where  to  look  for  it." 

"Now,  Ikon,"  said  Herr  Lehrer,  "we  must  not 
hinder  our  friend  any  longer.  Say  Good-bye." 

Ikon  obeyed  at  once,  and  said  "Thank  you"  also, 
with  a  very  grateful  look. 

Fritz  looked  at  Herr  Lehrer  and  said: 

"  The  little  boy  may  come  again." 


Stars  in  Daylight.  45 

"  Thanks,"  Herr  Lehrer  answered.  "  He  will  be 
very  pleased,  I  am  sure." 

"  May  I  come  here  some  day  at  night  ?"  asked  Ikon 
earnestly. 

"What  would  the  good  Dormer  say?"  enquired 
Herr  Lehrer,  smiling.  "  We  shall  see,  my  boy." 

For  some  time  after  leaving  the  garden  the  two 
walked  in  silence.  Ikon  seemed  very  thoughtful,  and 
not  inclined  to  chatter  about  what  he  had  seen,  as 
some  children  might  have  done.  He  kept  gazing  at 
the  sky  so  hard  that  once  or  twice  he  caught  his  foot 
and  would  have  fallen,  but  for  his  friend's  hand. 

"The  stars  are  there,  my  child,"  Herr  Lehrer  at 
length  said  softly. 

"  I  do  wish  I  could  see  them,"  sighed  Ikon. 

"  But  you  know  the  fact.  The  stars  are  there,  ever 
shining  on,  only  hidden  from  our  eyes  by  brighter 
sunlight  filling  the  air.  Ikon,  are  you  over-tired  ?  I 
should  like  to  turn  aside  for  a  few  minutes  on  the 
beach,  as  we  go  home." 

"  I'm  not  the  very  least  tired,"  protested  Ikon. 

"  Dormer  bade  me  be  careful  of  you;  but  the  wind 
is  not  so  cold  to-day.  I  do  not  think  you  will  get 
any  harm." 

The  sea  lay  not  far  from  Ikon's  home,  and  he 
often  found  his  way  thither.  He  loved  to  roam 


46  Among  the  Stars. 

about  on  the  shore,  in  search  of  shells  and  sea- 
weeds. 

The  Professor  and  the  child  were  soon  standing 
side  by  side  upon  the  yellow  sand.  Small  waves 
rolled  in  cheerily,  sparkling  in  the  sunshine. 

"What  a  difference  sunshine  makes!"  said  Herr 
Lehrer.  "  What  should  we  do  without  it  ?  " 

"  Everything  would  be  so  cold,"  Ikon  said,  with 
almost  a  shiver.  "  I  do  like  to  feel  warm." 

"  And  all  the  warmth  that  we  enjoy  comes  from 
the  bright  sun,"  said  Herr  Lehrer. 

"  Does  the  sun  make  the  stars  warm  too  ?"  asked 
Ikon. 

"  No,  my  boy.  The  stars  are  bright  and  warm  in 
themselves,  just  like  the  sun.  But  our  earth  and  the 
moon  would  be  quite  cold  and  quite  dark,  if  it  were 
not  for  the  sun's  rays." 

Then  he  stood  looking  at  the  sea. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  ROUND  EARTH. 

"IKON,"  said  Herr  Lehrer,  "I  want  you  to  observe 
those  two  ships  on  the  horizon.  How  much  can 
you  see  of  them  ? " 

"  I  can  see  them  both,"  said  Ikon. 

"  The  whole  of  both  ?" 

Ikon  gazed  hard. 

"  They  are  big  ships,  and  they've  both  got  three 
masts,"  he  said.  "No,  I  can't  see  quite  the  whole 
of  one.  I  can  only  see  the  masts.  It  is  such  a 
great  way  off." 

"  Such  a  great  way  off  that  the  ship  is  too  small 
for  you  to  see  it  ? " 

"  Not  too  small"  said  Ikon.  "  I  can  see  the  masts 
quite  plainly;  only  not  the  other  part." 

"Not  the  hull." 

"  No.  O  yes,  that  is  the  word — hull.  The  sailors 
call  that  being  '  hull-down.' " 


48  Among  ike  Stars. 

"  Which  means—" 

"  Why,  it  means — "  said  Ikon.  "  It  only  means 
that  one  ship  is  gone  down  partly  into  the  horizon.'* 

"You  would  say  that  it  has  set,"  the  Professor 
said,  smiling. 

"  But  ships  don't  set  like  stars,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Not  precisely,  perhaps.  I  wish  you  to  tell  me 
what  you  mean  by  '  going  down  into  the  horizon.' " 

Ikon  seemed  puzzled. 

"What  do  you  understand  by  the  horizon?" 

"  It's  just  as  far  as  I  can  see,"  said  Ikon.  "  It's 
where  the  sea  and  the  sky  join." 

"  Seem  to  join,"  corrected  Herr  Lehrer.  "  If  you 
were  out  there,  where  our  horizon  is  now,  do  you 
think  you  would  find  the  sky  really  down  on  the 
sea  ? " 

"  No,"  said  Ikon,  laughing.  "  Of  course  I  shouldn't. 
The  horizon  would  have  gone  on  ever  so  much 
farther." 

"  Then  the  horizon  is  the  distant  line  where  either 
sky  and  sea  or  sky  and  land  seem  to  meet.  As  you 
say,  it  is  just  as  far  as  we  are  able  to  see.  But  why 
cannot  you  see  farther  ?  Is  it  because  your  eyes 
are  too  weak." 

"  I  suppose  so,"  said  Ikon.  "  I  didn't  know  my  eyes 
were  weak." 


The  Round  Earth.  49 

"And  I  do  not  think  they  are.  If  you  and  I  were 
to  climb  that  cliff,  should  we  still  be  able  to  see  only 
the  same  distance  ? " 

"No,"  Ikon  said  at  once.  "I  know  we  should  see 
a  great  way  farther  out  to  sea,  because  I  have  so 
often  noticed  that.  The  horizon  seems  to  go  away, 
and  sometimes  there  are  more  ships." 

"  So,  plainly,  my  boy,  it  is  not  weak  sight  which 
prevents  your  having  a  wider  view.  Being  on  the 
top  of  the  cliff  would  not  strengthen  your  eyesight. 
Now,  Ikon,  look  again  steadily  at  the  ship  that  is 
hull-down.  You  are  quite  sure  you  only  see  the 
masts — not  the  hull." 

"  No,"  Ikon  answered.  "  I  can't  see  the  hull  at  all. 
But  couldn't  I  if  we  were  up  on  the  cliff? " 

"  Yes;  you  could.  We  will  try  another  plan,  how- 
ever. Instead  of  going  up  the  hill,  we  will  use  a 
help  to  our  sight,  standing  here." 

The  Professor  drew  a  neat  leathern  case  from  his 
pocket,  and  pulled  something  out  of  it. 

"Is  that  a  telescope  ?"  asked  Ikon.  "Why,  it's 
two  little  twin-telescopes  joined  together." 

"  It  is  called  a  bi-no-cu-lar,"  said  Herr  Lehrer. 

"  Am  I  to  open  one  eye  and  screw  up  the  other?* 
asked  Ikon. 

"  No;  you  may  keep  both  eyes  open,  and  use  both 


50  Among  the  Stars. 

Now,  Ikon,  stand  very  still,  and  move  the  binocular 
gently,  following  the  line  of  the  horizon,  till  you  find 
a  ship.  Not  too  fast.  You  will  come  first  upon  the 
nearer  ship,  which  is  not  hull-down." 

"  Oh  yes,  I  see.  It's  lovely,"  said  Ikon.  "  The 
ship  has  grown  big — ever  so  big.  It  looks  a  great 
great  deal  closer  than  it  was." 

"  Now  move  the  glass  on — to  the  right — for  the 
ship  that  is  hull-down.  See  if  the  glass  will  enable 
you  to  see  the  body  of  the  ship." 

"I  should  think  it  would"  said  Ikon  confidently. 
"  There  !  There  it  is  !  I've  found  it." 

"  And  the  hull  ? "  said  Herr  Lehrer. 

"  Why,  it  is  hull-down  still,"  cried  Ikon. 

"  You  are  quite  sure  ?     Examine  carefully." 

"  I  can  only  see  the  masts.  But  they  are  ever 
BO  much  bigger  and  nearer.  How  funny ! "  said 
Ikon. 

Herr  Lehrer  allowed  Ikon  to  look  a  minute  or  two 
longer;  then,  taking  back  the  glass,  he  put  it  into 
the  case,  and  dropped  both  into  his  pocket.  After 
which  he  turned  from  the  beach,  and  began  walking 
homewards. 

"  I  do  like  that  bi — something,"  said  Ikon.  "  May 
I  look  in  it  again  some  day  ? " 

" Certainly,"  Herr  Lehrer  replied.     "But  do  not 


The  Round  Earth.  51 

now  forget  the  question  which  we  have  not  yet 
answered." 

Ikon  had  to  consider. 

"  I  know,"  he  said.  "  It's  why  the  sky  and  sea  get 
together — I  mean — seem  to  get  together — " 

"  Seem  to  meet,  at  the  horizon,"  said  the  Professor. 

"  Yes,  seem  to  meet — and  why  we  can't  see  farther 
out  to  sea,  when  our  sight  is  good  enough  ?  " 

"  That  is  better  expressed.  Can  you  tell  me 
what  shape  the  earth  is,  Ikon  ? " 

1 '  What  shape  ? "  repeated  Ikon  thoughtfully.  ' '  Oh, 
it's  round." 

"A plate  is  round,"  said  the  Professor.  "  Is  our 
earth  the  same  shape  as  a  plate  ? " 

"No.  It's  round  like  an  orange.  Miss  Mundy 
taught  me  that.  And  it  has  got  a  flat  North  Pole, 
and  a  flat  South  Pole." 

"  The  shape  of  the  earth  is  that  of  a  sphere,"  said 
Herr  Lehrer. 

Ikon  said  the  word  "sphere"  twice,  as  if  half 
recognising  it. 

"Miss  Mundy  said  that  a  hemisphere  meant  half, 
a  sphere.  And  I  know  we  are  in  the  northern 
hemisphere,  because  that  comes  into  my  geography. 
But  I  don't  think  Miss  Mundy  ever  told  me  that 
the  whole  world  was  a  whole  sphere." 


52  Among  the  Stars. 

"  Come — that  shows  attention,"  said  the  Professor, 
well  pleased.  "  I  see  you  are  really  trying  to  under- 
stand what  I  say  to  you.  Your  idea  is  quite  right, 
Ikon.  The  earth  is  a  sphere;  and  half  the  earth  is 
a  hemisphere,  or  half  a  sphere." 

"  Is  a  sphere  like  an  orange  ? "  asked  Ikon. 

"  An  orange  is  not  a  perfect  sphere,  because  it  is 
rather  flat  at  the  two  ends,  instead  of  being  perfectly 
round  every  way.  In  the  same  manner  the  earth 
itself  is  not  a  perfect  sphere,  having  poles  very  slightly 
flattened.  Still,  roughly  speaking,  an  orange  and 
the  earth  are  spheres  or  balls.  You  may  as  well  get 
it  at  once  into  your  head  that  the  moon  and  the  sun 
and  the  planets  are  all  spheres  or  balls.  None  of 
them  are  flat  like  plates." 

"  The  moon  looks  flat,"  said  Ikon. 

"  The  moon  is  not  flat,"  said  the  Professor. 

"  Are  planets  stars  ?"  asked  the  little  boy. 

"  No — planets  and  stars  are  quite  different.  I 
must  teach  you  the  difference  soon." 

"  I  don't  know  yet  why  the  sky  and  the  water 
seem  to  come  together  at  the  horizon,"  said  Ikon, 
after  a  pause. 

"  Because  the  world  is  a  sphere,  Ikon." 

Ikon  could  not  understand,  and  he  was  afraid  the 
Professor  would  think  him  dreadfully  stupid.  He 


The  Round  Earth.  53 

asked  no  more,  and  Herr  Lehrer  waited,  smiling. 
Ikon  presently  murmured: 

"  I  don't  see  one  bit  why." 

He  thought  Herr  Lehrer  did  not  hear,  and  a  fit 
of  shyness  seized  him,  so  that  he  could  ask  no  more. 
They  were  now  quite  near  home,  and  Ikon  was  be- 
ginning to  feel  very  tired.  So  he  trudged  along  in 
silence,  rather  mournfully. 

Reaching  the  house,  Herr  Lehrer  placed  a  hand 
on  the  child's  shoulder,  and  led  him  into  the  school- 
room. 

"We  have  done  nearly  enough  for  this  morning," 
he  said.  "  But  I  must  make  this  one  matter  clear. 
Where  is  you  school-globe  ? " 

"  It  isn't  a  very  big  one,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Quite  large  enough  for  our  purpose.  If  a  little 
fly  were  standing  here,  Ikon,  just  where  England  is, 
and  another  little  fly  were  standing  there,  at  the 
south  of  Africa — would  these  two  little  flies  see  one 
another  ? " 

"  No,"  said  Ikon.     "  They  couldn't." 

"  Why  not  ?     Because  of  weak  sight  ? " 

"Because  the  globe  would 'come  between.  It 
would  hide  one  from  the  other." 

"  Suppose  these  countries  were  not  marked  on  a 
globe,  but  on  a  flat  map.  Have  you  an  atlas  ? " 


54  Among  the  Stars. 

Ikon  sprang  across  the  room,  and  brought  a  slim 
red  volume.  Herr  Lehrer  turned  to  the  map  of  the 
world. 

"  See — a  fly  standing  on  England,  and  a  fly  stand- 
ing at  the  south  of  Africa,  might  quite  well  see  each 
other,  had  they  good  enough  sight." 

"  Yes,"  said  Ikon.  "  But  if  the  earth  isn't  flat,  I 
don't  see  why  the  map  is  made  flat." 

"  For  convenience  only.  This  globe  is  a  truer 
picture  of  our  world.  Now  look  at  it  once  more, 
and  leave  the  flat  map.  Suppose  these  two  little 
flies  to  be — one  in  England,  one  at  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope.  Suppose  they  begin  to  travel  slowly — one 
to  the  south,  one  to  the  north.  Could  they  see  each 
other  yet  ? " 

"  Not  yet,"  said  Ikon,  watching  the  Professor's  two 
finger-tips  with  great  interest. 

"  Put  your  face  here,  and  look  with  the  eye  of  the 
English  fly;  not  moving.  Now  the  other  fly  comes 
nearer — slowly.  Say;  could  the  one  perceive  the 
other?" 

"Just,"  Ikon  said.  "I  think  this  fly  would  have 
just  a  glimpse  of  your  fly." 

"Of  his  head  or  his  legs?" 

"  Oh,  the  head  first,  because  that  would  be  high- 
est," said  Ikon, 


The  Round  Earth.  55 

"And  a  little  nearer—" 

"Then  they  would  see  the  whole  of  one  another 
quite  plainly." 

The  Professor  withdrew  his  hand,  smiling. 

"  You  have  learnt  your  lesson,  my  boy.  It  is 
even  so  that  we  see  a  ship  approaching  over  the 
sea.  First  the  masts,  because  they  are  highest — 
while  the  hull  of  the  ship  is  yet  hidden.  Then  the 
whole  of  the  vessel." 

"But,"  Ikon  said — "but  the  fly  wouldn't  see  the 
other  fly,  because  the  globe  bulges  up  between." 

"  Precisely  so,"  the  Professor  answered.  "  And 
we  could  not  see  the  ship's  hull  to-day,  because  the 
waters  of  the  ocean  bulged  up  between." 

"  Does  the  water  bulge  up  ?  "  asked  Ikon. 

"  The  sea  does  as  a  whole.  This  earth  being  a 
sphere,  the  ocean  is  folded  round  that  sphere,  fol- 
lowing its  shape,"  said  Herr  Lehrer.  "  Your  little 
globe  is  a  small  sphere,  and  the  earth  is  a  very  large 
one.  Therefore,  the  bulging  of  the  earth's  surface 
is  very  gradual  and  gentle.  On  your  globe,  a  fly 
would  be  hidden  from  another  fly  at  a  few  inches 
distance.  On  the  earth,  a  ship  can  be  seen  by  an- 
other ship  when  very  many  miles  apart.  Still,  when 
one  is  hidden  from  the  other,  the  reason  is  in  both 
cases  the  same." 


56  Among  the  Stars. 

"Yes— of  course — the  earth  is  a  great  great  deal 
bigger,"  said  Ikon. 

"  The  higher  we  are  placed,  the  wider  is  our  view," 
said  Herr  Lehrer.  "  On  a  hill  we  can  see  farther 
than  on  the  shore.  On  a  mountain  we  can  see 
farther  than  on  a  hill.  But  in  every  case,  nearer  or 
farther,  the  gently-bulging  surface  of  sea  or  land 
rises  up,  and  seems  to  meet  the  sky,  and  shuts  off 
from  us  what  lies  beyond." 

"  I  should  like  to  know  how  big  the  earth  is,"  said 
Ikon. 

"  Another  time,"  the  Professor  answered.  "  I  have 
given  you  enough  to  think  about  this  morning — for 
a  holiday." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THINGS  BIG  AND   BEAUTIFUL. 

"  IT  is  two  whole  days  since  I  have  had  one  single 
talk  about  the  stars,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Did  you  expect  a  lesson  on  Sunday  ? "  asked  Herr 
Lehrer. 

"  O  no,"  the  little  boy  answered.  "  Of  course  I 
didn't.  And  you  told  me  a  great  deal  on  my 
Saturday  holiday.  Dormer  says  she  is  sure  I  ought 
to  be  satisfied.  And  she  says  she  can't  think  why 
you  take  such  a  lot  of  trouble.  And  I  told  her  it 
was  because  you  were  so  good." 

"  I  like  to  teach  people  who  love  to  learn,"  said  the 
Professor. 

"  /love  to  learn,"  responded  Ikon,  nestling  close  to 
his  friend  with  a  confiding  air.  "  And  I  didn't  mean 
to  grumble  about  the  two  days,  only  it  did  seem 
long." 

The  Professor  smiled  at  this,  and  asked: 


58  Among  the  Stars. 

"  What  do  you  want  to  hear  about  to-day?  " 

"  If  it  was  dark,  I  wanted  to  know  more  about  the 
stars  all  moving,"  said  Ikon.  "Seeming  to  move,  I 
mean.  Dormer  says  the  stars  are  all  fixed  quite 
fast,  and  never  move  at  all,  really." 

"  Dormer's  assertion  is  not  quite  correct.  But  let 
that  alone  for  the  present.  What  do  you  wish  ex- 
plained ? " 

"About  the  earth  turning  round,  and  making  all 
the  stars  seem  to  move  over  the  sky,"  said  Ikon,  with 
knitted  brows.  "I've  been  looking  and  looking 
every  evening  when  it  is  fine,  and  I  can't  make  it 
out  a  bit.  The  stars  all  go  walking  on,  on,  over 
the  sky.  I've  looked  out  as  soon  as  it  was  quite 
dark,  and  once  or  twice  again  before  I  went  to  bed. 
And  I  could  see  the  stars  had  gone  walking  on.  But 
I  don't  believe  they  all  come  up  in  the  east  and  go 
down  in  the  west — at  least,  I  couldn't  see  that  they 
do.  It  seems  as  if  they  just  come  up  anywhere  and 
go  down  anywhere." 

"  Rather  puzzling  for  a  little  boy,"  said  the  Pro- 
fessor. "Wiser  heads  than  yours  have  felt  the 
difficulty.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  much  more  to 
you  now  about  these  apparent  motions  of  the 
stars.  Some  other  matters  had  better  come  first. 
But  perhaps  I  can  help  you  a  little." 


Things  Big  and  Beautiful.  59 

"  Please,"  Ikon  said. 

"Then  notice  this.  Watch  as  you  may,  each 
evening,  you  will  see  no  stars  rise  anywhere  near 
the  western  horizon.  Watch  as  you  may,  you  will 
see  no  stars  set  anywhere  near  the  eastern  horizon. 
The  general  movement  is  all  from  an  easterly 
direction  to  a  westerly  direction." 

Ikon  nodded.  "  I'll  look,"  he  said.  "  I  think  I'll 
look  out  both  sides  of  the  house." 

"  Do  so,"  said  Herr  Lehrer.  "  Be  quite  clear  in 
your  little  head  which  really  is  the  east,  and  which 
the  west.  And  remember  also  something  else. 
When  we  speak  of  stars  rising  in  the  east  and  setting 
in  the  west,  we  do  not  mean  merely  the  east  and 
the  west  of  this  house.  We  mean  that  the  stars, 
as  a  whole,  rise  to  the  east  of  the  whole  earth, 
and  set  to  the  west  of  the  whole  earth.  This 
makes  a  very  wide  east  and  a  very  wide  west, 
reaching  in  fact  from  the  north  pole  to  the  south 
pole." 

"I  think  I  understand,"  said  Ikon  slowly. 

"  You  asked  me  two  questions  lately  which  ought 
to  be  answered,"  said  Herr  Lehrer  after  a  pause. 
"  One  was  about  the  size  of  the  earth.  The  other 
was  about  the  distinction  between  stars  and 
planets." 


6b  Among  the  Stars. 

"O  yes,  please,"  said  Ikon.  "  Are  you  going  to 
tell  me  now?" 

Herr  Lehrer  pulled  a  rosy-cheeked  apple  out  of 
his  pocket,  and  said: 

"  Describe  to  me  how  large  this  apple  is,  Ikon." 

"  It  is  big — a  beautiful  big  apple." 

"  But  I  want  to  know  its  exact  size." 

Ikon  seemed  quite  at  a  loss. 

"  There  are  two  or  three  ways  in  which  you  may 
answer  me.  You  might  say  precisely  how  large  it 
is,  measured  straight  through  from  one  side  to  the 
other.  Or  you  might  say  how  large  it  is,  measured 
once  round  the  outside." 

The  Professor  produced  a  slender  sharp  stiletto, 
much  like  what  ladies  carry  in  their  work-boxes; 
and  also  a  small  ruler,  marked  with  inches.  A  yard- 
measure  appeared  next  and  was  laid  on  the  table. 
Herr  Lehrer  thrust  the  stiletto  carefully  through 
the  centre  of  the  apple,  till  its  point  just  reached  the 
other  side.  Then,  withdrawing  it,  he  measured  with 
the  little  ruler  how  much  of  the  stiletto  had  gone 
into  the  apple. 

"  It's  three  inches,"  said  Ikon  eagerly. 

"  That  is  to  say,  the  size  of  the  apple  from  one 
side  to  the  other,  straight  through  its  centre,  is  three 
inches,"  remarked  the  Professor.  "  Or,  as  I  should 


Things  Big  and  Beautiful.  6l 

rather  say,  the  apple  is  three  inches  in  diame- 
ter. The  word  *  diameter '  means  '  the  measure 
through.'  " 

Ikon  repeated  "  diameter  "  two  or  three  times,  ac 
if  to  learn  it  by  heart. 

"  Again,  we  may  take  this  yard-measure,  and  may 
see  how  much  of  it  is  needed  to  go  around  the 
apple  at  its  largest  part.  See — " 

"  Nine  inches,"  cried  Ikon. 

"  So  we  may  say  that  the  apple  is  three  inches  in 
diameter,  and  nine  inches  in  circumference" 

"  Cir-cum-fer-ence,"  repeated  Ikon,  "  O  yes,  I 
know  that  word.  Doesn't  it  mean  round — right 
round  the  outside  ?  The  apple  is  three  inches 
through,  and  nine  inches  round." 

"  That  is  a  more  exact  description  than  merely  to 
state  that  the  apple  is  big  and  beautiful,"  said  Herr 
Lehrer.  "  You  must  try  to  remember  these  two 
words,  however — diameter  and  circumference." 

"Are  you  going  to  tell  me  how  large  the  world  is 
through  and  round  ?  "  asked  Ikon.  "  I  mean — how 
big  its  diameter  is,  and  the  other  too." 

"  The  earth  is  a  great  deal  larger  than  this 
apple,"  Herr  Lehrer  remarked.  "  Instead  of  being 
three  inches  only,  it  is  nearly  EIGHT  THOUSAND 
MILES  in  diameter." 


62  Among  the  Stars. 

"  Eight  thousand  miles  ! "  said  Ikon  in  amaze- 
ment. 

"  Nearly,"  said  the  Professor.  "  Now  I  want  you 
to  tell  me  what  the  circumference  of  the  earth  is. 
A  ball  or  globe  is  rather  more  than  three  times  as 
much  round  the  outside  as  through  the  centre.  Did 
you  notice  this  with  the  apple  ?  " 

"  No,"  Ikon  answered.  "  It  was  three  inches,  and 
nine  inches.  Of  course — three  times  three  is  nine." 

"  Then,  if  the  diameter  of  the  earth  is  eight 
thousand  miles,  what  is  the  circumference  of  the 
earth  ?  " 

"Three  times  eight  thousand!  O  dear!"  said 
Ikon. 

"  That  is  not  so  difficult,  my  boy.  Three  times 
eight  is — " 

"  Twenty-four,"  Ikon  promptly  replied. 

"Then  three  times  eight  thousand  is  twenty-four 
thousand.  The  earth  is  nearly  eight  thousand  miles 
in  diameter,  and  she  is  about  twenty-five  thousand 
miles  round  at  the  equator." 

"  It's  an  enormous  earth,"  said  Ikon  very  seriously. 
"  How  long  would  it  take  me  to  walk  eight  thousand 
miles  ?  Or  to  go  by  train  !  How  long  would  that 
take  ? " 

"  Without  stopping  ?  "  asked  Herr  Lehrer. 


Things  Big  and  Beautiful. 


"  I  shouldn't  want  to  stop.  It  would  be  so  dark 
inside  the  world,"  said  Ikon,  smiling.  "  Of  course,  I 
couldn't  really  take  that  journey,  because  trains  don't 
go  straight  down  into  the  ground.  And  I  couldn't 
breathe  either  —  could  I  ?  Only,  people  do  make 
tunnels." 

"Not  through  the  centre  of  the  earth,  Ikon." 

"  No  —  only  just  a  little  way  down.  But  if  I 
•were  to  go,"  said  Ikon,  smiling  still  —  "  Oh,  wouldn't 
it  be  a  wonderful  journey  !  Where  should  I  come 
out  at  the  other  side  ?  " 

"  Probably  in  New  Zealand,"  said  Herr  Lehrer. 

"It  is  nice  to  fancy  things,"  said  Ikon.  "I  like 
to  fancy  going  down,  down  deep  into  the  ground, 
and  then  coming  out  suddenly  in  New  Zealand.  How 
frightened  people  would  be  to  see  me  !  Would  it 
take  me  a  great  while  to  get  there  ?  " 

"  If  your  train  went  steadily  at  the  rate  of  forty 
miles  an  hour,  continuing  night  and  day  alike, 
never  stopping,  and  never  going  more  slowly,  you 
would  accomplish  your  journey  in  eight  days  and  a 
half." 

"  Do  trains  go  forty  miles  an  hour  ?" 

"  Some  do,"  said  the  Professor.  "  That  is  a  good 
medium  speed.  Some  are  faster,  and  some  are 
slower." 


Among  the  Stars. 


"  Only  of  course  they  do  stop  sometimes,"  said 
Ikon. 

"  Yes;  passengers  need  food  and  rest;  and  engines 
need  coal  and  water.  Such  fast  travelling  in  real 
life  is  quite  impossible." 

"  It  seems  such  a  great  tremendous  world,"  Ikon 
remarked  again. 

"  Not  nearly  so  large  as  the  sun,"  said  Herr  Lehrer. 
"  The  sun  is  so  very  much  more  enormous,  that  our 
earth  beside  him  looks  quite  tiny." 

"  I  shouldn't  think  such  a  great  big  world  could 
look  tiny,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Is  a  loaf  of  bread  a  large  thing  or  a  small  thing  ?  " 
asked  the  Professor. 

"Why;  I  don't  know.  It's— isn't  it  pretty  big  ?  " 
said  Ikon  hesitatingly. 

-,     "  Suppose  you  asked  a  little  ant  what  he  thought 
of  a  loaf?" 

"  Oh,  he  would  say  it  was  enormous,"  said  Ikon, 
his  face  lighting  up  with  fun.  "  He  would  think  it 
a  tremendous  mountain." 

"  And  suppose  you  asked  an  elephant  what  he 
thought  of  that  same  loaf  ?  " 

"  Why,  of  course  he  would  think  it  quite  tiny," 
said  Ikon  laughing.  "  Not  even  a  mouthful — only  a 
sort  of  scrap." 


Things  Big  and  Beautiful.  65 

"  You  see,  then,  that  size  is  a  matter  of  compari- 
son. The  same  loaf  is  enormous  to  an  ant,  and  a 
mere  scrap  to  an  elephant.  Now,  the  earth  is  very 
large  indeed  to  you  and  me.  But  seen  beside  the 
gun,  the  earth  is  quite  small." 

"  I  didn't  know  the  sun  was  so  very  very  large," 
said  Ikon. 

"  Other  people  did  not  know  it  either,  once 
upon  a  time.  The  Greeks,  long  ago,  were  quite 
angry  because  somebody  ventured  to  think  that  the 
sun  might  be  as  large  as  their  little  country, 
Greece." 

"  But  it  is  bigger,  really  and  truly,"  said  Ikon,  in 
a  half  questioning  tone. 

"  Very  much  bigger.  People  believed,  however, 
then  and  long  afterwards,  that  our  earth  was  the 
most  important  place — was  the  centre,  in  fact,  of 
everything.  They  supposed  themselves  to  be  living 
on  a  mighty  world  which  never  moved,  round 
which  the  sun  and  moon  and  planets  and  comets 
and  stars  were  perpetually  travelling,  just  for  the 
good  of  mankind." 

"  Don't  any  of  the  stars  go  round  and  round  the 
earth  ? "  asked  Ikon. 

"Not  one  of  the  stars.  And  not  one  of  the 
planets  either — unless — " 


66  Among  the  Stars. 

"  Doesn't  anything  ?  Doesn't  the  sun,  or  the 
moon  ?  " 

"  Yes,  one  thing  does.  The  moon  travels  round 
the  earth,  and  only  the  moon.  None  of  the  stars 
do;  and  none  of  the  planets — unless,  as  I  was  about 
to  say,  we  call  the  moon  a  planet.  The  sun  does 
not.  It  is  the  earth  which  travels  round  the  sun, 
not  the  sun  round  the  earth." 

"The  sun  seems  to  go  round  us,"  said  Ikon. 

"  True;  but  you  already  know  that  this  movement 
of  the  sun  is  only  apparent,  and  is  caused  by  the 
earth's  own  motion." 

"Yes;  I  remember — it  is  because  the  earth  goes 
spinning  round  like  a  top." 

"  That  is  one  movement.  There  is  also  another. 
The  earth  not  only  spins  constantly  like  a  top, 
but  travels  always  in  a  wide  pathway  round  and 
round  the  sun.  She  spins  once  in  every  twenty-four 
hours:  but  to  journey  once  round  the  sun  takes  her 
a  whole  year." 

"  I  think  it's  a  very  whirligig  sort  of  world,"  said 
Ikon. 

"  People  for  a  long  while  did  not  know  this,  Ikon. 
And  when  it  was  first  talked  about,  they  were  greatly 
offended.  For  it  did  not  seem  half  so  grand,  to  be 
merely  one  among  a  great  many  planets  circling 


Things  Big  and  Beautiful.  67 

round  a  mighty  central  sun,  as  to  count  our  own 
earth  that  mighty  centre  herself,  with  all  the  hea- 
venly bodies  circling  round  her." 

"Do  all  the  stars  travel  round  the  sun  ?"  asked 
Ikon. 

"  No;  not  the  stars.  The  sun  himself  is  a  star; 
one  among  many  stars.  Our  own  world  and  many 
other  worlds  travel  round  the  sun,  and  we  call  them 
'planets.'  The  sun  is  very  much  like  a  father, 
with  a  large  family  clustering  about  him.  Other 
stars  may  have  their  families  of  worlds  also." 

"  It  seems  so  very  funny  to  think  of  our  sun  being 
only  a  star,"  said  Ikon.  "  But  you  haven't  told  me 
about  planets  yet." 

"  I  have  not  forgotten,"  said  Herr  Lehrer.  "  Now 
it  has  grown  dark,  I  should  like  to  show  you  through 
my  telescope  the  difference  between  a  star  and  a 
planet." 

"  Oh,  have  you  got  a  telescope  ? "  cried  Ikon,  with 
widely-opened  eyes. 

"  Yes,"  said  Herr  Lehrer.  "  It  is  a  clear  night, 
and  mild  for  the  time  of  year.  Do  you  think  Dor- 
mer would  give  you  leave  to  come  out  on  the  terrace 
for  a  short  time  ?  You  must  wrap  up  warmly.  Tell 
her  it  is  not  windy,  and  that  side  of  the  house  is 
sheltered." 


68  Among  the  Stars. 

Ikon  rushed  away,  breathless  and  eager.  Whether 
Dormer  would  have  given  her  consent  to  anybody 
except  Herr  Lehrer  may  be  doubted.  But  she  liked 
the  Professor  for  his  pleasant  ways:  and  she  was 
grateful  to  him  for  all  the  trouble  he  took  with  the 
child.  So  Ikon  soon  came  running  back,  muffled  up 
to  the  ears,  and  beaming  with  delight. 

"  That  will  do,"  the  Professor  said.     "  Now  come." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

IKON'S  NEW  "LITTLE  MOON." 

HERR  LEHRER'S  telescope  was  not  nearly  so  large 
as  that  of  his  friend  "Fritz."  It  could  be  packed 
away  in  a  sort  of  long  narrow  box.  Ikon  had  seen 
this  box  often,  and  had  wondered  what  might  be 
inside  it. 

Now  he  saw  the  box  lying  empty  on  the  terrace; 
and  out  of  it  had  come  a  telescope,  much  larger  than 
that  belonging  to  the  sailor,  yet  a  great  deal  smaller 
than  the  one  through  which  Ikon  had  seen  stars  in 
broad  daylight.  The  tube  was  mounted  on  a  three- 
legged  stand;  and  a  three-legged  stool  stood  beside 
it,  ready  for  use. 

"  Now,  Ikon,"  said  the  Professor.  "  Are  you  ready 
for  a  little  journey  towards  the  stars  ? " 

Ikon  clapped  his  hands,  almost  too  happy  for 
speech. 

"  Mind,  I  only  say  towards  the  stars — not  to  them. 


JO  Among  the  Stars. 

You  and  I  can  go  in  imagination,  just  so  far  as  this 
telescope  has  power  to  carry  us." 

"  But  of  course  it  will  make  the  stars  look  ever  so 
much  nearer  and  bigger,"  said  Ikon  joyously.  "  I  do 
want  to  see  what  they  are  really  and  truly  alike." 

Herr  Lehrer  silently  arranged  the  telescope  in  a 
certain  position. 

"  Are  you  going  to  let  me  look  at  that  splendid 
bright  star  up  there  ? "  asked  Ikon,  extending  his 
arm  in  the  same  direction  as  the  tube.  "  Oh  isn't  it 
a  beauty  ?  Bigger  than  my  star  was  !  " 

"  There  is  no  brighter  star  in  all  the  heavens  than 
Sirius,"  said  Herr  Lehrer. 

"  Is  that  star  called  Sirius  ?  " 

"  Yes.  It  has  an  older  name — the  Dog-star.  But 
I  am  not  going  to  show  you  Sirius  first.  There  is 
a  tolerably  bright  star  near.  Take  a  good  look  with 
your  own  eyes,  and  then  come  here." 

Ikon  obeyed.  He  gazed  hard  for  a  moment  at 
the  star  indicated  by  the  Professor,  and  then  sprang 
joyfully  to  the  stool. 

"  Well  ? "  the  Professor  said. 

For  Ikon  sat  in  silence,  with  his  eye  still  at  the 
tube,  direfully  disappointed.  He  murmured  at 
length,  in  a  depressed  voice: 

"  It  isn't  one  bit  bigger  or  nearer." 


Ikons  New  '''Little  Moon."  71 

"  No  ? "  said  the  Professor.  "  Look  again  at  the 
star,  and  then  again  through  the  telescope." 

"  It  has  gone  away,"  said  Ikon. 

The  Professor  put  his  eye  to  the  tube,  and  adjusted 
it  afresh. 

"  Well  ? "  he  said  once  more. 

"  It  isn't  bigger — much,"  said  Ikon  sadly.  "  I 
don't  see  that  it  is  at  all.  It's  only  just  a  little 
more  shining." 

"We  will  try  Sirius,"  said  Herr  Lehrer.  "  Sirlu$ 
is  a  magnificent  sun,  Ikon — much  larger  than  our 
own  sun,  we  believe." 

Ikon  looked  hard  at  the  brilliant  twinkling  point 
of  light,  and  then  peered  anxiously  through  the 
telescope.  But  the  result  was  much  the  same. 

"  It's  brighter,"  he  said,  sighing.  "  It  is  a  good 
deal  brighter  in  the  telescope.  But  I  didn't  want 
only  that.  I  wanted  to  see  what  the  stars  are  like!' 

"You  did  not  see  anymore  in  my  friend's  tele- 
scope," said  Herr  Lehrer. 

"No.  But  that  was  day-time,"  said  Ikon.  "I 
thought  I  was  going  to  see  ever  so  much  to-night. 
And  it  isn't  anything  at  all.  It's  only  just  the  same 
as  always.  I  don't  see  how  anybody  can  know  that 
that  little  star  is  bigger  than  our  sun ." 

The  voice  sounded  just  the  least  degree  injured, 


72  Among  the  Stars. 

11  Our  journey  to  the  stars  is  a  failure,"  said  the 
Professor,  falling  into  Ikon's  mournful  tone.  "  We 
have  tried,  and  we  cannot  reach  them.  Shall  we 
give  up  from  this  day  thinking  any  more  about  the 
stars  ? " 

"  O  no,"  Ikon  said  at  once,  looking  up  in  the 
Professor's  face.  "  I  do  want  to  learn  more." 

"  But  people  cannot  learn  when  they  feel  cross," 
said  Herr  Lehrer.  "  It  makes  their  brains  stupid.' 

"  Then  I  won't  be  cross,"  said  Ikon  cheerfully. 
"  Perhaps  Mr.  Fritz's  telescope  could  show  me  the 
stars  better." 

"  Not  much  better,  Ikon.  The  most  powerful 
telescope  ever  yet  made  can  do  little  more  than  in- 
crease their  brightness." 

"  I  don't  see  why,"  said  Ikon. 

"Because  they  are  so  very  very  far  distant." 

"  I  thought  telescopes  were  meant  for  that,"  said 
Ikon. 

"  Were  meant  to  magnify  distant  objects,  you 
mean.  Yes;  it  is  so.  But  the  power  of  a  telescope 
is  limited.  So  enormous  are  the  distances  of 
the  stars,  that  telescopes  can  help  us  but  a 
little." 

"  I  don't  see  that  the  stars  are  like  the  sun,"  said 
Ikon. 


Ikon's  New   "Little  Moon"  73 

"  No,  my  boy,  you  do  not.  Many  things  are  true 
which  you  and  I  cannot  see." 

"  But  you  know,"  said  Ikon  timidly,  hearing  re- 
buke in  the  tone. 

"  I  know  some  facts  about  the  stars  which  you  do 
not  yet  know — and  which,  as  a  little  boy,  you  can- 
not possibly  understand.  There  are  further  depths 
of  knowledge  beyond  me  also,  where  I  find  myself 
ignorant  as  a  child.  You  and  I  have  in  different 
matters  to  learn  the  same  lesson — that  often  we 
must  believe  where  we  cannot  see  or  understand." 

"  But  you  do  know  about  that  star  being  bigger 
than  the  sun,"  said  Ikon. 

"  We  know  about  how  far  distant  Sirius  is.  We 
know  that  our  sun,  removed  to  the  distance  of 
Sirius,  would  not  shine  as  Sirius  does,  but  would  be 
one  of  the  fainter  stars.  We  conclude,  therefore, 
that  Sirius,  giving  out  very  much  more  light  than 
our  sun  gives  out,  must  probably  be  much  larger  than 
our  sun.  Another  day  I  will  tell  you  more  about  the 
distances  of  the  stars." 

"  If  our  sun  was  as  far  off  as  Sirius,  wouldn't  a 
telescope  make  it  look  any  bigger  than  a  common 
star  ?  "  asked  Ikon. 

"  No,  not  at  all,  Ikon." 

The  Professor  sat  down  again  on  the  stool,  and 
6 


74  Among  the  Stars. 

moved  the  telescope.  Ikon,  following  this  movement 
with  his  eyes,  and  searching  over  the  sky,  suddenly 
exclaimed: 

"  Oh,  I  can  see  another  star,  and  it's  brighter  than 
Sirius.  "Oh,  ever  so  much  bigger  and  brighter. 
And  it  doesn't  twinkle  at  all.  And  you  said  you 
would  tell  me  why  some  stars  don't  twinkle,  and 
some  do." 

"  The  twinkling  is  merely  in  appearance,"  said 
Herr  Lehrer.  "  It  is  caused  by  the  layers  of  air 
through  which  the  rays  of  light  have  to  pass.  In 
parts  of  the  earth,  where  the  air  is  clearer,  the  twink- 
ling is  much  lessened.  In  our  country,  however,  you 
may  generally  know  a  planet  from  a  star,  by  the  fact 
that  stars  do  twinkle,  and  planets  as  a  rule  do  not." 

"  That  star  isn't  twinkling,"  said  Ikon.  "  Is  it  a 
planet  ? " 

"  Yes.  I  am  going  to  show  it  to  you  through  the 
telescope.  Ha  !  "  the  Professor  added,  in  a  pleased 
tone.  "  You  are  fortunate.  Look  quickly,  Ikon,  and 
look  steadily." 

This  time  no  disappointment  was  in  store  for  the 
boy. 

"  Oh  !  Oh  !  "  he  cried  rapturously.  "  Oh,  it's  a 
dear  little  moon — a  real  moon — such  a  beauty.  And 
it  has  got  streaks  all  across  it — only  not  like  the  face 


Ikon's  New  "Little  Moon?  75 

on  the  big  moon.     Oh  !     And  there  are  three  little 
tiny  stars  quite  near!     Oh,  it's  going  !  " 

The  Professor  responded  to  this,  and  once  more 
Ikon's  "moon"  shone  softly  on  him  through  the 
telescope. 

"  Now,  Ikon,  make  the  best  use  of  your  sight," 
said  Herr  Lehrer.  "Are  you  quite  sure  there  arc 
only  three  little  '  stars.' " 

"  One — two — three.     Only  three,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Don't  you  see  something  on  the  edge  of  youi 
'  moon  ' — a  little  bright  hump  ?  " 

"  O  yes — why,  of  course  I  do.  What  can  it  be  ? ' 
cried  Ikon.  "  And  it's  moving — moving.  I'm  sun 
it  is  !  There — it  isn't  sticking  to  the  moon  any 
longer.  O  dear  me,  they  are  all  running  away 
again.  Thank  you — now  they  are  all  right.  And 
there  are  four  little  stars." 

"  But  they  are  not  stars.  They  are  moons,"  said 
Herr  Lehrer. 

"  Are  those  moons  ?  "  said  Ikon  in  astonishment 
"  Then  there  are  five  moons." 

"  No,  only  four.  The  larger  body  is  a  planet — i 
world  like  our  own.  The  name  of  the  planet  iv 
Jupiter.  It  is  a  very  large  planet  indeed:  mucfr 
larger  than  our  earth." 

"  Is  it  as  big  as  the  sun  ?"  asked  Ikon. 


76  Among  the  Stars. 

"  No,  not  nearly.  Jupiter  is  the  largest  of  all  the 
planets;  but  still  he  is  only  a  planet.  He  travels 
round  the  sun,  with  his  four  moons;  just  as  our 
earth  travels  round  the  sun  with  her  one  moon." 

"I  do  wish  we  had  four  moons,"  said  Ikon.  "  I 
should  like  to  be  on  Jupiter.  Are  any  people  living 
there?" 

"  Ah,  that  I  cannot  tell  you,"  said  Herr  Lehrer. 
"  I  think  it  is,  to  say  the  least,  extremely  doubtful. 
Now,  my  boy,  I  must  not  keep  you  here  any  longer, 
or  you  will  take  cold.  You  have  had  a  capital  view 
of  Jupiter.  Run  indoors,  and  take  off  your  wraps." 

Ikon  obeyed,  and  soon  after  the  Professor  followed 
him. 

"Well,"  he  said  smilingly  to  the  little  boy,  "I 
hope  you  are  carrying  away  some  clear  ideas  this 
evening,  Ikon." 

"  I've  been  trying  to  remember  all  you  told  me," 
said  Ikon.  "  And  I  think  I  haven't  forgotten  much." 

"  Try  to  tell  me  some  of  the  chief  points,"  said 
the  Professor. 

Ikon  stood  in  front  of  him,  with  a  very  intent 
face. 

"  The  sun  is  a  star,"  he  said.  "  And  stars  and 
planets  are  quite  different.  And  our  world  is  a 
planet." 


Ikons  New  "Little  Moon?  77 

"  Good,"  said  the  Professor.     "  Go  on." 

"  And  the  sun  is  in  the  middle  of  all  the  planets," 
said  Ikon.  "  And  they  go  round  and  round  the  sun 
— our  world  and  Jupiter  and  all  of  them.  And  the 
stars  don't  go  round  the  sun,  but  perhaps  they  have 
planets  going  round  them." 

"  Quite  right,"  said  the  Professor. 

"And  the  moon  goes  round  the  earth;  and  we 
have  only  got  one  moon,"  continued  Ikon.  "  And 
Jupiter  has  got  four  moons.  And  the  stars  are  such 
a  very  great  way  off  that  the  telescope  can't  make 
them  look  bigger,  but  only  brighter." 

"  Are  the  planets  as  far  off  as  the  stars  ?"  asked 
Herr  Lehrer. 

"  I  don't  know.     Are  they,  please  ?  " 

"No;  not  nearly.  You  saw  that  the  telescope 
could  make  Jupiter  look  larger." 

"  O  yes — I  forgot.  And  there's  a  beautiful  star 
called  Sirius,  and  it's  a  sun,  and  it  is  most  likely  a 
great  great  deal  bigger  than  our  sun." 

"  Well  remembered,  my  boy,"  said  the  Professor. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

SHINE  AND   SHADOW. 

"  PLEASE,  will  you  tell  me  more  about  Jupiter  ? " 
asked  Ikon,  next  day. 

It  was  a  rainy  afternoon,  and  he  had  been  amusing 
himself  in  the  school-room  for  a  change.  A  lamp 
had  been  lighted  early,  and  placed  on  the  centre 
table.  Dormer  came  in  and  out,  till  Herr  Lehrer 
appeared,  and  then  she  vanished. 

"Jupiter  is  one  of  the  planets,"  said  Herr  Lehrer, 
"  There  are  many  others,  however." 

"What  does  'planet'  mean?"  Ikon  wanted  to 
know. 

"A  'planet*  means  a  'wanderer.'  They  were 
so  named  at  first  because  of  their  movements  in  the 
sky.  The  stars,  as  I  think  you  know,  remain  fixed 
in  the  same  positions,  century  after  century.  The 
movement  of  the  earth  makes  them  seem  to  sweep 
over  the  sky  every  night  in  company;  but  they  do 


Shine  and  Shadow.  79 

not  change  places  among  themselves.  The  Great 
Bear  always  keeps  his  own  shape,  unchanged;  four 
chief  stars  to  the  body,  and  three  to  the  tail.  So 
too  with  the  Little  Bear,  and  with  all  other  groups 
of  stars." 

"Is  that  what  Dormer  meant  by  calling  them 
'fixed'?"  asked  Ikon. 

"  That  is  doubtless  what  Dormer  had  in  her  mind 
When  you  look  out  at  night,  and  see  the  constella- 
tions of  the  Great  Bear,  or  the  little  Bear,  or  Orion] 
you  may  be  sure  that  Abraham  and  Noah  and  Job, 
looking  at  the  sky  thousands  of  years  ago,  might 
have  seen  those  very  constellations,  just  the  same 
in  shape  as  you  see  them  now." 

"I  wonder  if  Abraham  and  Noah  and  Job  ever 
looked  at  the  stars,"  said  Ikon  thoughtfully. 

"  Abraham  did,"  said  Herr  Lehrer.  "  God  led  him 
forth  one  night,  and  told  him  to  look  at  the  sky. 
And  Job  did,  for  he  speaks  of  the  stars  in  his  book. 
No  doubt  Noah  did  also." 

"  I  don't  know  exactly  what  constel — constel — " 

"Constellations?  A  constellation  is  a  group  of 
stars." 

"  And  haven't  they  changed  the  very  least  since 
Abraham  was  alive  ?  " 

"  Since  Abraham  lived  on  earth  ?     I  do  not  say 


8o  Among  the  Stars. 

there  has  been  no  change.  But  I  do  say  that  if  you 
had  looked  upon  them  then,  and  could  look  upon 
them  again  now,  with  your  unassisted  sight  and 
common  attention,  you  would  not  see  the  slightest 
alteration." 

"  It  is  such  an  immense  time,"  said  Ikon. 

"  We  were  going  to  talk  about  the  planets,"  said 
Herr  Lehrer.  "  The  stars  remain  fixed,  each  having 
its  own  particular  place  in  a  particular  group  or 
constellation,  from  which  it  never  stirs.  But  the 
planets  are  always  wandering  on  among  the  stars. 
That  is  why  they  are  called  Wanderers." 

"  Does  Jupiter  move  about  ?  "  asked  Ikon. 

"Yes.  If  you  watched  him  carefully  for  a  long 
while,  you  would  find  his  position  slowly  changing. 
Some  of  the  smaller  and  nearer  planets  move  much 
faster.  A  planet,  instead  of  being  fixed  in  one  con- 
stellation, may  be  seen  now  in  one  group  of  stars, 
then  in  a  second,  and  then  in  a  third.  That  is  one 
great  distinction  between  stars  and  planets  " 

"  I  know  another  difference,"  said  Ikon.  "  Stars 
twinkle,  and  planets  don't." 

"  As  a  general  rule  they  do  not;  but  some  among 
them  may  be  seen  to  twinkle.  I  wish  now  to  telJ 
you  of  a  more  important  distinction.  What  causes 
the  stars  to  shine,  Ikon  ? " 


Shine  and  Shadow.  8 1 

"Dormer  says  it  is  because  they  are  bright." 

Herr  Lehrer  turned  to  the  table,  smiling. 

"Does  this  lamp  shine  because  it  is  bright  ?" 

"Why,  no,"  said  Ikon.  "It  shines  because — be- 
cause— it  burns.  It  can't  help  shining.  It  shines 
because  there  is  a  flame  of  fire." 

"  That  is  precisely  how  the  sun  and  the  stars 
shine,"  said  Herr  Lehrer.  "  The  sun  shines,  and  the 
stars  shine,  because  they  are  great  fiery  furnaces  of 
heat  and  light." 

"Are  there  flames  in  the  sun  ?  "  asked  Ikon. 

"  Yes.  The  sun  is  wrapped  round  with  a  tremen- 
dous envelope  of  furious  flames." 

"  I  shouldn't  think  it  would  be  nice  to  live  there.'* 

"I  should  not  think  it  would  be  possible,"  said 
Herr  Lehrer.  "  Now  the  planets  do  not  shine  so—- 
neither does  the  earth." 

"  Why,  the  earth  doesn't  shine  !"  said  Ikon  in  sur- 
prise. 

"  Certainly  it  does,  my  boy — quite  as  much  as 
some  other  planets.  If  you  were  on  Venus,  you 
would  see  our  earth  looking  much  more  brilliant 
and  beautiful  than  Jupiter  did  last  night." 

"  Is  Venus  a  planet?" 

"  Venus  is  one  of  the  planet- wanderers — the 
nearest  to  ourselves  in  size." 


82  Among  the  Stars. 

• 

"  I  never  thought  of  the  earth  shining,"  said  Ikon. 

Herr  Lehrer  took  up  a  little  glass  ball  with 
which  Ikon  had  been  playing,  and  held  it  in  the  full 
light  of  the  lamp. 

"What  makes  this  little  ball  shine?  "  he  asked. 

"  Why — because  it's  in  the  lamplight,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Would  it  still  look  bright,  if  I  put  out  the  lamp  ?  " 

"  O  no;  it  wouldn't  shine  at  all.  It  could  not 
shine  in  the  dark." 

"You  see,  then,  the  difference  between  the  stars 
and  the  planets.  A  star  shines  as  this  lamp  shines, 
—by  its  own  actual  brightness.  A  planet  shines,  as 
this  glass  ball  shines, — by  light  falling  upon  it  from 
something  else.  Our  sun  is  a  star,  and  he  shines  by 
his  own  burning  light.  Our  earth  is  a  planet,  and 
she  shines  only  because  the  sun's  light  falls  upon  her.' 

"  And  the  moon  ?  "  said  Ikon. 

"The  moon  shines  as  the  planets  shine — by  re- 
flected or  borrowed  light.  The  moon  is  bright, 
simply  because  the  sunbeams  falling  on  her  make 
her  bright.  The  moon  can  only  shine  on  that  side 
which  is  turned  towards  the  sun.  Her  other  side  is 
in  darkness.  The  sun,  on  the  contrary,  is  always 
equally  bright  all  round." 

Herr  Lehrer  walked  to  the  window,  and  beckoned 
Ikon  to  follow  him. 


Shine  and  Shadow.  83 

"  Do  you  think  this  part  of  the  earth  is  shining 
now  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  It  doesn't  look  as  if  it  was,"  said  Ikon. 

"And  it  is  not.  This  side  of  the  world  is  now 
turned  away  from  the  sun;  therefore  no  bright  sun- 
beams fall  on  it,  and  it  cannot  shine.  The  other 
side  of  the  earth  is  now  coming  into  daylight,  just 
as  we  are  now  passing  away  from  it.  That  side 
could  be  seen  to  shine,  by  somebody  looking  at  it 
from  another  world." 

"  But  our  earth  isn't  up  in  the  sky  ? "  said  Ikon, 
in  a  puzzled  voice. 

"  Our  earth  is  just  as  much  up  in  the  sky  to  another 
planet,  as  another  planet  is  up  in  the  sky  to  us." 

"It  seems — funny,"  said  Ikon.  "And  it  is  very 
funny  to  think  of  daylight  being  somewhere  else  on 
the  world,  while  we  are  in  the  dark." 

"  There  is  always  daylight  somewhere  on  earth," 
said  Herr  Lehrer. 

He  rose  from  the  table,  and  brought  the  little 
school-globe  from  another  part  of  the  room.  Ikon 
jumped  up,  and  then  paused,  not  knowing  what  the 
Professor  wanted.  Herr  Lehrer  placed  the  globe 
on  the  table,  raising  it  by  means  of  a  small  desk  to 
about  the  height  of  the  lamp. 

"Now,  Ikon,"  he  said,  "you  are  to  suppose  this 


84  Among  the  Stars. 

lamp  to  be  the  sun,  and  this  globe  to  be  our  earth. 
How  much  of  the  earth  is  in  daylight,  and  how  much 
is  in  darkness  ?  " 

"  The  side  near  the  lamp  is  in  daylight — bright 
daylight,"  said  Ikon.  "And  this  side  away  from  the 
lamp  hasn't  got  daylight,  I  suppose.  But  it  isn't  dark." 

"  No;  for  there  is  sufficient  light  through  the  room 
to  prevent  any  part  of  the  globe  being  quite  dark. 
But  you  can  see  that  this  side  is  in  shadow;  and 
with  the  real  earth,  the  shadow  is  blackness.  Now 
get  up  on  a  chair,  and  look  carefully.  Tell  me — 
is  it  day  or  night  in  England  at  this  moment  ? " 

"  Why,  we  are  in  England,  and  it  is  nearly  night," 
said  Ikon.  "  Oh — do  you  mean  on  the  globe  ?  It  is 
dark  where  little  England  is — quite  night." 

The  Professor  began  to  turn  the  globe  very  gently 
from  left  to  right. 

"  Now  watch,"  he  said.  "  You  see  I  am  moving 
England  towards  the  east.  That  is  the  way  the  earth 
turns.  Can  England  see  the  sun  rising  yet  ?" 

"Just  a  peep,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Then  that  is  the  dawn.  As  the  earth  turns,  Eng- 
land is  travelling  towards  the  east;  and  this  makes 
it  seem  to  her  as  if  the  sun  were  rising  in  the  east. 
See — England  is  passing  on  to  broad  daylight. 
Now  she  is  exactly  under  the  full  lamp-light,  and  it 


Shine  and  Shadow.  85 

is  mid-day.  Now  she  is  moving  onward,  and  it  is 
afternoon  with  her.  Other  countries  are,  you  per- 
ceive, having  their  mid-day;  and  others  their  morn- 
ing dawn;  all  at  the  same  time.  Now  England  has 
reached  her  evening  twilight.  She  is  passing  away 
from  the  sunlight — and  America  is  in  broad  daylight, 
while  the  inhabitants  of  China  are  plunged  in  dark- 
ness. Now  England  has  passed  into  night  once 
more — yet  none  the  less  does  the  lamp  shine." 

Ikon  was  intensely  interested.  He  asked  to  turn 
the  globe  himself,  and  sat  on  the  table,  scanning 
its  surface  eagerly,  and  calling  out: 

"It's  night!  It's  morning  !  It's  mid-day!  It's 
evening  !  Now  the  people  are  going  to  bed  !  But 
over  on  the  other  side  of  the  world  they  are  just  get- 
ting up.  How  funny — why,  some  are  having  breakfast 
and  some  are  having  tea,  just  at  the  very  same  time." 

Ikon  turned  once  or  twice  in  silence,  and  then 
looked  smilingly  in  the  Professor's  face  to  say: 

"  What  tiny  tiny  wee  little  people  they  would  have 
to  be  on  this  globe  !  " 

"  Much  too  small  to  be  visible  even  with  a  micro- 
scope," said  Herr  Lehrer. 

"  I  shouldn't  like  to  be  so  small  as  that,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Well,  have  you  turned  it  enough  ? "  asked  the 
Professor  at  length. 


86  Among  the  Stars. 

"  I  suppose  so,"  said  Ikon,  as  if  unwilling  still  to 
leave  off.  "  I  never  did  know  before  that  it  was  day 
in  one  place,  and  night  in  another  place,  at  the  very 
same  time." 

"  I  hope  you  know  it  now,"  said  Herr  Lehrer. 
"  There  is  always  broad  daylight  exactly  under  the 
sun.  There  is  always  complete  night  exactly  away 
from  the  sun.  There  is  always  morning  dawn  on 
one  side,  between  the  two.  There  is  always  evening 
twilight  on  the  other  side,  between  the  two.  As  the 
earth  turns  on  her  axis,  each  country  passes  in  turn 
through  these  different  conditions." 

"What  is  '  axis'  ?  "  asked  Ikon. 

"  The  axis  of  this  globe  is  the  slender  rod  upon 
which  it  turns.  The  axis  of  the  earth  is  the  straight 
line  from  her  north  pole  to  her  south  pole,  round 
which  she  spins." 

"  I  wonder  why  the  globe  is  made  all  tilted  over 
on  one  side,"  said  Ikon.  "It  would  be  ever  so  much 
nicer  straight." 

"Would  it?  But  the  earth  is  not  straight,"  said 
Herr  Lehrer.  "The  axis  of  the  globe  is  tilted  to 
one  side,  just  because  the  axis  of  the  earth  is  tilted 
to  one  side.  I  will  tell  you  more  about  this  some 
other  day." 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  SIZE  OF  THE  SUN. 

"  I  WANT  to  have  a  few  words  with  you  about  the 
sun,"  Herr  Lehrer  remarked  next  morning  after 
breakfast.  "  Miss  Mundy  does  not  come  directly, 
does  she  ? " 

"  O  no— not  till  ten  o'clock,"  said  Ikon.  "  But  we 
can't  see  the  stars  now,  and  I  thought  you  were  al- 
ways too  busy  after  breakfast." 

"  Not  to-day;  but  I  shall  be  busy  all  the  afternoon 
and  evening." 

"  The  sun  isn't  shining  now,"  said  Ikon,  coming 
to  the  Professor's  side. 

"  Yes,  it  is  shining — very  brightly  indeed,"  said 
Herr  Lehrer. 

Ikon  looked  at  him  in  astonishment.  For 
certainly  it  was  an  extremely  dull  and  beclouded 
morning. 

"  The  sun  shines  up  in  the  heavens,  just  as  usual,* 


88  Among  the  Stars. 

said  Herr  Lehrer.  "  Only  it  happens  that  a  few 
masses  of  vapour  have  come  between  his  rays  and 
this  part  of  England." 

"Is  that  all? "asked  Ikon.  "But  ever  so  many 
people  say  the  sun  doesn't  shine  sometimes." 

"  The  sun  always  shines,"  said  Herr  Lehrer.  "Now 
and  then  his  beams  do  not  fall  directly  on  you  and 
me.  Yet  his  light  and  warmth  reach  us  through  the 
clouds." 

"  Yes— it  isn't  dark"  said  Ikon.  "  I  didn't  think  of 
that.  Please,  I  do  want  so  very  much  to  know  how 
big  the  sun  really  is.  Oh,  and  I  want  to  know  the 
names  of  all  the  other  planets  besides  Jupiter." 

"The  planets  shall  come  to-morrow.  The  sun  to- 
day," said  the  Professor,  "Which  do  you  suppose 
to  be  the  largest,  my  boy — sun  or  moon  ? " 

"  Why,  you  said  the  sun  was.  It  doesn't  look  the 
biggest,"  said  Ikon,  "It's  only  a  great  deal  the 
brightest.  But  the  sun  and  the  moon  look  just  the 
same  size." 

"  Yet  one  is  enormously  larger  than  the  other. 
How  come  they  to  appear  alike  ?  " 

Ikon  thought  for  some  seconds,  and  shook  his 
head  hopelessly. 

Herr  Lehrer  drew  a  ring  off  his  little  finger,  and 
held  it  between  Ikon's  eyes  and  the  window. 


The  Size  of  the  Sun.  89 

"  Now  observe  and  tell  me — which  looks  to  your 
sight  the  larger,  this  ring,  or  yonder  red  house  on  the 
hill-side?" 

"  The  house,  of  course,"  said  Ikon. 

"  You  are  speaking  hastily.  Observe  for  yourself. 
I  do  not  ask  which  is  in  very  truth  the  largest,  but 
which  appears  so  to  your  eyes  at  this  moment.  In 
your  sight,  does  the  house  or  the  ring  fill  the  biggest 
space  ?  See — you  can  behold  the  entire  house 
within  the  circle  of  the  ring." 

"  I  suppose  the  ring  looks  the  biggest  really,"  said 
Ikon.  I  didn't  think  it  would." 

"You  jumped  at  a  conclusion,  and  did  not  notice 
for  yourself.  Why  does  the  ring  look  larger  to  you 
than  the  house  ? " 

"  Because — because — "  said  Ikon.  "  Oh,  because 
it  is  close  to  me,  and  the  house  isn't." 

"  The  case  is  the  same  with  the  sun  and  moon,  my 
boy.  The  sun  is  like  the  house — very  large  and  very 
distant.  The  moon  is  like  the  ring — very  small  and 
very  near.  Therefore,  as  we  look  at  the  two,  they 
appear  to  be  about  the  same  size.  The  moon  can 
even  hide  the  face  of  the  sun  from  us,  as  she  floats 
between;  exactly  as  this  little  ring  can  encircle  the 
large  house." 

"  How  big  is  the  moon  really  ? "  asked  Ikon. 
7 


90  Among  the  Stars. 

"Much  smaller  than  the  earth.  Instead  of  being 
eight  thousand  miles  straight  through,  the  moon's 
diameter  is  only  two  thousand  miles.  If  I  were  to 
take  a  good-sized  marble  as  a  picture  of  the  earth,  I 
should  have  to  take  a  pea  as  a  picture  of  the  moon." 

"  Eight  thousand  miles,  and  two  thousand  miles! 
Why,  two  thousand  is  only  one  quarter  of  eight 
thousand,"  said  Ikon.  "  And  how  big  is  the  sun, 
please?" 

"  Tell  me  once  more  the  diameter  of  the  moon," 
said  Herr  Lehrer. 

"Two  thousand  miles." 

"And  of  the  earth?" 

"  Nearly  eight  thousand  miles,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Good  child.  Now  the  diameter  of  the  planet 
Jupiter,  which  you  have  seen,  is  a  good  deal  more 
than  ten  times  as  much.  Ten  times  eight  thousand 
is  eighty  thousand.  So  Jupiter's  measure,  straight 
through  the  centre,  is  more  than  eighty  thousand 
miles." 

"  Oh,  what  a  size! "  said  Ikon.     "  And  the  sun  ?  " 

"  The  sun's  diameter  is  again  more  than  ten  times 
that  of  Jupiter.  Ten  times  eighty  thousand  is  eight 
hundred  thousand." 

Ikon's  eyes  opened  widely. 

"  So,"  continued  the  Professor — "  you  may  remem  • 


The  Size  of  the  Sun.  91 

ber  these  round  numbers  as  somewhat  near  the 
mark: 

"The  moon:  about  two  thousand  miles. 

"  The  earth:  more  than  eight  thousand  miles. 

"  Jupiter:  more  than  eighty  thousand  miles. 

"The  sun:  more  than  eight  hundred  thousand 
miles." 

"  What  a  tremendous  enormous  great  sun  he  must 
be,"  said  Ikon.  "Ten  times  as  big  as  Jupiter." 

"  Much  more  than  ten  times  as  big"  said  the  Pro- 
fessor. "We  are  speaking  now  simply  about  the 
diameter  or  through-measure;  not  about  the  size  of 
these  globes  as  a  whole." 

"  But  I  thought  you  said  it  was  ten  times  as  big," 
replied  Ikon. 

"  No,  my  boy.  I  said  that  the  diameter  of  Jupiter 
was  about  ten  times  the  diameter  of  the  earth;  and 
that  the  diameter  of  the  sun  was  about  ten  times 
that  of  Jupiter.  To  say  that  the  size  of  one  planet 
is  ten  times  the  size  of  another,  is  quite  a  different 
matter." 

Ikon  was  plainly  puzzled. 

"See  here,"  said  the  Professor — "this  globe  of 
yours  is,  roughly  speaking,  about  ten  inches  in  diam- 
eter. Have  you  at  hand  the  little  glass  ball  which 
we  used  yesterday  ? — Ah,  thanks,  I  did  not  see. 


92  Among  the  Stars. 

Now  this  small  glass  globe  is  about  one  inch  in 
diameter.  Therefore,  your  globe  is  just  so  much 
bigger  than  the  glass  ball,  as  Jupiter  is  bigger  than 
the  earth.  The  diameter  of  one  is  about  ten  times 
the  diameter  of  the  other." 

"  Yes— oh  yes,  I  understand,"  said  Ikon.  "  One 
inch,  and  ten  inches." 

"The  diameter  of  the  globe  is  ten  times  the 
diameter  of  the  glass  ball,"  repeated  Herr  Lehrer. 
"  But  the  globe  is  very  much  more  than  ten  times 
the  size  of  the  glass  ball  as  a  whole.  Ten  glass  balls 
of  this  size  would  not  make  a  ball  as  large  as  the  globe." 

"  O  no;  not  nearly"  said  Ikon. 

"So  it  is  quite  a  different  matter  to  speak  of  the 
diameters  of  two  balls,  and  to  speak  of  their  general 
size  or  volume.  But  now  I  wish  to  help  you  to  a 
clearer  idea  of  the  sun's  size,  compared  with  the 
earth's  size.  Talking  of  thousands  of  miles  is  very 
puzzling  to  a  little  boy.  Suppose  we  try  to  fancy 
the  earth  and  Jupiter  and  the  sun  all  grown  small 
together." 

"  All  grown  to  the  same  size  ? "  asked  Ikon. 

"No;  the  same  size  would  not  do  at  all.  You 
must  picture  them  all  to  yourself  as  shrinking 
smaller  and  smaller;  yet  one  not  shrinking  faster 
than  the  others." 


The  Size  of  the  Sun.  93 

"  Yes.     I'm  fancying  them,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Whatever  sizes  we  bring  them  to,  Jupiter's 
diameter  must  always  be  about  ten  times  that  of 
earth;  and  the  sun's  diameter  must  always  be  about 
ten  times  that  of  Jupiter.  If  the  earth's  diameter 
is  supposed  to  be  one  mile,  Jupiter's  will  be  ten 
miles,  and  the  sun's  will  be  a  hundred  miles.  If  the 
earth's  diameter  is  supposed  to  be  an  inch,  Jupiter's 
will  be  ten  inches,  and  the  sun's  a  hundred  inches. 
In  this  manner  you  may  gain  a  good  notion,  not  of 
their  actual  sizes,  but  of  how  large  each  one  is,  com- 
pared with  the  others." 

Ikon  nodded  and  looked  very  intent. 

"  This  little  glass  ball  may  do  for  the  earth,"  said 
the  Professor.  "And  your  globe  shall  serve  for 
Jupiter.  The  glass  ball  is  an  inch,  and  the  globe  is 
ten  inches,  in  diameter.  In  proportion  to  these  sizes, 
we  shall  require  for  the  sun  a  globe  of  about  one  hun- 
dred inches,  or  eight  and  a  half  feet,  in  diameter." 

"  Eight  and  a  half  feet !  "  repeated  Ikon. 

"  This  room  is  not  high:  but  it  is  over  eight 
feet  and  a  half,"  said  Herr  Lehrer.  "  Your  playroom 
would,  however,  be  about  right.  A  ball  to  represent 
the  sun  should  just  be  able  to  stand  in  your  play- 
room, Ikon,  with  perhaps  two  or  three  inches  to 
spare." 


94  Among  the  Stars. 

"  It  wouldbt  a  great  huge  ball,"  said  Ikon.     "And 
only  this  little  tiny  glass  ball  for  the  earth." 

,  "  And  perhaps  a  large  pea  for  the  moon,"  said  Herr 
Lehrer,  smiling.  "  Did  I  not  rightly  say,  child,  that 
the  earth  was  small  beside  the  great  sun  ? " 


CHAPTER  XI. 

MANY  WORLDS. 

"  MAY  I  learn  the  names  of  all  the  planets  to-day?" 
asked  Ikon. 

"  You  may  hear  them — some  of  the  number 
at  least.  The  learning  must  depend  upon  your- 
self." 

"  I  should  like  to  write  them  down,  and  then  I'll 
say  them  over  and  over  to  Dormer." 

"  Not  a  bad  notion.    What  is  a  planet,  Ikon  ? " 

"  It's  a  world,"  said  Ikon.  "  And  it  goes  round  and 
round  the  sun." 

"  Do  all  planets  go  round  the  sun  ? " 

Ikon  said  "  Yes; "  and  then  hesitated. 

"  All  planets  belonging  to  our  sun's  own  family  do/ 
said  Herr  Lehrer.  "  But  there  may  be  thousands  of 
other  planets,  travelling  round  other  suns." 

"  O  yes,  I  forget,"  said  Ikon.  "  And  a  planet 
isn't  a  star.  A  star  shines  of  itself;  but  a  planet 


9b  Among  the  Stars. 

shines  because  the  sun  makes  it  shine.  And  a  planet 
is  a  place  for  people  to  live  on." 

"  Our  own  planet  is  a  place  for  people  to  live  on," 
said  Herr  Lehrer.  "  Other  planets  may  be  so  also, 
or  they  may  not  be." 

"Aren't  some  of  them  any  use  at  all?"  asked 
Ikon. 

"  Yes,"  Herr  Lehrer  answered.  "  God  made  them 
all,  and  when  the  work  was  done  He  saw  that  it  was 
good.  So  you  may  be  quite  sure  they  have  their 
uses,  past  or  present  or  future.  But  I  cannot  at  all 
say  whether  other  planets  are  of  use  precisely  in  the 
same  way  as  our  earth." 

Ikon  was  in  the  schoolroom  again  with  the  Pro- 
fessor. Herr  Lehrer  did  not  always  seem  inclined 
for  the  long  climb  upstairs  to  Ikon's  playroom,  ex- 
cept at  night,  when  a  good  view  of  the  stars  could 
be  had. 

"All  the  planets  of  our  system,  so  far  as  we  know, 
spin  round  like  the  earth,"  said  Herr  Lehrer.  "  All 
of  them  travel  round  the  sun,  like  the  earth.  So, 
like  the  earth,  other  planets  have  their  days  and 
nights  and  years.  The  great  sun  is  in  the  centre, 
pouring  out  light  and  heat;  and  the  planets  roll 
round  and  round  him  perpetually;  each  at  its 
own  distance,  and  each  in  its  own  pathway  or 


Many    Worlds.  97 


orbit.  Some  are  near,  and  some  are  very  far 
away." 

"  How  many  planets  are  there  ? "  asked  Ikon. 

"Eight  principal  planets,  and  many  smaller  ones. 
You  shall  get  your  slate  presently,  and  write  down 
all  the  chief  names." 

"  Only  eight !  "  said  Ikon. 

"Eight  principal  planets.  That  is  not  nearly 
all." 

"  No,"  said  Ikon. 

"We  may  divide  them  into  three  groups.  First: 
the  four  smaller  planets,  nearest  to  the  sun.  Some 
think  there  are  five,  but  this  is  not  certain.  Second: 
a  great  many  very  little  planets,  all  travelling  round 
the  sun  in  company.  Third:  the  four  great  outer 
planets,  farthest  away  from  the  sun.  In  addition, 
there  are  the  moons,  belonging  to  some  of  the 
planets.  Many  of  these  moons  are  larger  than 
many  very  small  planets.  They  really  are  planets 
or  worlds;  though  we  call  them  moons,  because 
they  seem  to  belong  to  other  planets,  as  our  moon 
seems  to  belong  to  us." 

"  May  I  learn  their  names  now  ? "  begged  Ikon. 

"  Yes,  you  may  get  your  slate.  That  is  right. 
Now  put  down  first — 

" '  THE  SUN.'     For  he  is  the  centre  and  head." 


98  Among  the  Stars. 

Ikon  wrote  quickly,  as  directed.  He  had  a  good 
clear  hand  for  his  age. 

"  Tell  me  now  what  comes  next." 

"  Four  or  five  not  very  big  planets,"  said  Ikon. 

"If  there  are  five,  the  name  of  the  first  and 
nearest  to  the  sun  is — 

"  VULCAN. 

"  But  we  are  by  no  means  sure  that  there  is  such 
a  planet.  The  nearest  of  which  we  are  sure  is — 

"  MERCURY. 

"  That  is  a  busy  little  planet,  hurrying  round 
the  sun  at  a  great  pace.  Outside  the  path  of  Mercury, 
lies  next  that  of — 

"  VENUS. 

"  You  may  often  see  Venus  in  the  evening  or  morn- 
ing, soon  after  sunset  or  before  sunrise.  She  is  even 
brighter  and  more  beautiful  than  Jupiter.  Beyond 
Venus  follows  the  planet — 

"  EARTH. 

"  These  two,  Venus  and  Earth,  are  much  the  same 
In  size.  Next  comes  the  red-tinted  planet — 

"MARS — travelling  in  a  pathway  or  orbit  outside 
that  of  Earth. 

"  Have  you  written  down  these  five  names,  Ikon  ?  * 

Some  little  help  in  the  spelling  proved  needful. 

"  Is  that  our  own  earth  ?  "  Ikon  wanted  to  know. 


Many   Worlds.  99 


"  That  is  our  own  earth,  lying  between  Venus  and 
Mars.  More  correctly,  the  pathway  of  Earth  lies 
between  the  pathways  of  Venus  and  Mars.  All 
these  planets  are  called  worlds,  but  '  Earth '  is  the 
name  of  our  particular  world  or  planet." 

Herr  Lehrer  took  a  piece  of  paper  and  a  pen. 
He  made  a  little  black  dot  in  the  centre,  and  said: 

"  That  is  the  sun.  Now  we  will  draw  the  orbits  of 
the  four  planets — Mercury  first — Venus,  outside  Mer- 
cury— Earth,  outside  Venus — Mars,  outside  Earth." 

"  Four  rounds,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Four  circles,  I  suppose  you  mean.  But  the  paths 
of  the  planets  are  not  circles.  They  are  all  slightly 
oval:  and  the  sun  is  not  exactly  in  the  centre  of  any 
one  of  these  orbits.  I  am  not  attempting  to  show 
you  their  respective  distances  here.  This  is  merely 
to  make  you  understand  their  positions." 

"  May  I  keep  that  paper  ? "  said  Ikon. 

"  If  you  like.  Next  come  the  PLANETOIDS,  or 
Little  Planets.  They  were  first  named  ASTEROIDS, 
or  Little  Stars.  But  they  are  not  stars;  they  are 
planets,  only  very  small  ones.  In  number  they 
amount  to  between  two  and  three  hundred;  and 
their  orbits  all  lie  between  the  pathways  of  Mars 
and  Jupiter.  I  will  tell  you  more  about  distances 
another  day." 


IOO  Among  the  Stars. 

"  And  then  there  are  the  big  planets,"  said  Ikon, 
having  written  down  with  some  assistance  the  word 
"  Planetoids." 

"  Yes.  Outside  the  belt  of  little  planets,  we 
come  suddenly  on  the  monster  planet — 

"  JUPITER. 

"  You  haVe  seen  Jupiter  already,  and  will  not  for- 
get him,  I  think.  Outside  Jupiter  lies — 

"  SATURN. 

"  I  have  not  told  you  anything  yet  about  this 
planet,  with  his  strange  and  beautiful  rings.  Saturn 
is  next  in  size  to  Jupiter.  Then  follows — 

"URANUS. 

"And  after  Uranus  we  reach  the  lonely  far-off 
wanderer — 

"  NEPTUNE. 

"  If  any  more  planets  exist  beyond  these,  they 
have  not  yet  been  discovered.  Uranus  and  Neptune 
are  a  great  deal  smaller  than  Jupiter,  but  a  great 
deal  larger  than  Earth." 

"  May  I  know  about  the  moons  ? "  asked  Ikon. 
"  You  said  they  really  were  planets  too." 

"  Well,  yes — you  may  as  well.  Write  '  Moon  ' 
above,  and  opposite  the  name  Earth  write  *  One.' 
Mercury  and  Venus  have,  we  believe,  no 


Many   Worlds.  IOI 


"We're  better  off  than  Mercury  and  Venus,"  said 
Ikon.  Hasn't  poor  Mars  a  moon  ?  " 

"  Mars  has  two  exceedingly  small  moons,  lately 
discovered." 

"Oh,  I'm  glad  of  that.  It  would  be  nice  if  we  had 
two,"  said  Ikon. 

"Jupiter  has  four  moons,"  continued  the  Professor. 
"  Saturn  has  eight.  Uranus  has  four.  Neptune  has 
one." 

"  Only  one — and  such  a  great  way  off  from  the 
sun  !  "  said  Ikon. 

"  Only  one  of  which  we  know  as  yet.  There  may 
be  others,"  said  Herr  Lehrer. 

"  May  I  read  the  names  through?"  asked  Ikon. 
"  I  want  to  be  quite  sure  I've  got  them  all  exactly 
right,  and  then  I  mean  to  learn  them  off  by  heart- 
perfectly." 

The  Professor  made  a  sign  of  assent,  and  Ikon 
read: 

"THE  SUN. 

"  Mercury; 

"Venus; 

"Earth;  with  one  moon. 

"  Mars;  with  two  moons. 

"The  Planetoids. 


IO2  Among  the  Stars. 

"Jupiter;  with  four  moons. 
"  Saturn;  with  eight  moons. 
"Uranus;  with  four  moons. 
"  Neptune;  with  one  moon." 

"  Right,"  the  Professor  said,  when  Ikon  paused. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

MANY  DISTANCES. 

"SUPPOSE,"  said  the  Professor,  "suppose  that  the 
sun  were  only  one  twenty-fifth  of  an  inch  in  diameter." 

"  Are  you  going  to  tell  me  more  about  the  sun  to- 
day ? "  asked  Ikon. 

"  I  am  speaking  of  the  sun  at  this  moment.  I 
wish  you  to  picture  the  Solar  System  on  a  very 
small  scale." 

"  Is  the  Solar  System  something  new  for  me  to 
learn  ? " 

"  No.  By  the  'Solar  System '  I  mean  the  sun  and 
his  family  of  planets,  moons,  and  other  bodies." 

"  O  yes,"  assented  Ikon. 

"  Sol  is  the  Latin  for  sun;  and  by  a  '  system  '  we 
mean  a  'plan'  or  a  'scheme.'  The  Solar  System 
is  that  '  plan '  of  heavenly  bodies  of  which  the  great 
sun  is  the  centre." 

Then  the  Professor  began  again: 


IO4  Among  the  Stars. 

"  Suppose  that  the  sun  were  only  one  twenty-fifth 
of  an  inch  in  diameter." 

"  That  is  less  than  an  inch,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Considerably  less.  You  must  divide  an  inch  into 
twenty-five  equal  lengths,  and  take  one  of  these  tiny 
lengths  for  the  diameter  of  your  sun." 

"But  why?  "asked  Ikon. 

The  Professor  produced  an  ivory  foot-rule,  with 
inches  and  tenths  of  inches  marked.  He  made 
Ikon  count  the  ten  little  divisions  of  one  inch. 

"And  it  wouldn't  even  be  one  of  those  tens"  said 
Ikon. 

"  Tenths,"  corrected  Herr  Lehrer. 

"  Tenths,"  repeated  Ikon.  "It  wouldn't  even  be 
half  one  of  those.  The  inch  is  only  in  ten  bits, 
and  you  want  it  to  be  in  twenty-five  bits.  I 
shouldn't  think  the  sun  would  be  bigger  than  a 
pin's  head." 

"  No  larger  than  the  head  of  a  small  pin,"  said 
Herr  Lehrer.  "  So  now  we  have  the  size  of  the  sun. 
What  must  be  the  size  of  the  planets  in  proportion? 
You  know  what  I  mean  by  '  in  proportion '  ? " 

"  Yes.  Jupiter's  diameter  has  got  to  be  ten  times 
less, — I  mean,  only  one-tenth  as  much,"  said  Ikon. 
*'  O  dear  me,  Jupiter  would  be  only  a  dot,  and  I 
am  sure  the  earth  wouldn't  be  anything  at  all." 


Many  Distances.  105 


"  Would  not  be  anything  visible  to  our  eyes,  you 
mean.  Earth  and  other  small  planets  would  be 
only  as  specks  of  finest  dust.  Still,  yon  have  now 
to  picture  them  thus  to  yourself.  I  wish  to  show  you 
what  their  proper  distances  from  one  another  would 
be,  if  the  sun  were  as  small  as  I  have  described." 

"  O,  I  shall  like  that,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Let  us  go  to  the  large  empty  room  behind  the 
study,"  said  the  Professor. 

Ikon  followed  gladly.  It  was  a  room  seldom 
used,  barely  furnished,  and  not  even  carpeted.  The 
Professor  pushed  aside  a  table,  knelt  down,  and 
stuck  upright  in  the  boards  a  pin  with  a  very  small 
red  head. 

"  That  is  our  sun,  Ikon.  For  the  planets  we  will 
place  other  pins,  though  probably  they  should  be 
too  small  to  be  seen  by  us.  You  understand  that 
we  are  now  picturing  to  ourselves  the  sun  and  his 
planets,  all  shrunken  to  a  very  minute  size.  Not 
only  the  sun  and  the  planets  are  shrunken,  but  dis- 
tances and  movements  are  lessened  also,  exactly  in 
the  same  degree.  The  whole  thing,  instead  of  being 
magnified,  is  diminished." 

Herr  Lehrer  pulled  out  his  "binocular"  from  a 
deep  pocket,  and  bade  Ikon  look  through  it  out  of 
the  window. 


io6  Among  the  Stars. 

"  Everything  is  so  delightfully  big,"  Ikon  said. 
"  Trees  and  all.  Everything  looks  so  much 
nearer." 

"  Nearer  to  you — but  not  nearer,  one  thing  to 
another,"  said  Herr  Lehrer. 

"No,"  said  Ikon,  peering  outside  the  glass  and 
again  through  it.  "No,  things  don't  look  nearer  to- 
gether. Those  clumps  of  trees  seem  bigger,  and 
closer  to  me,  but  they  seem  farther  apart  from  each 
other." 

"Then  the  glass  magnifies  distances  as  well  as 
sizes,"  said  Herr  Lehrer.  "  Look  at  the  cart  and 
horse  on  the  road  yonder.  Does  the  glass  make 
them  seem  to  move  faster  or  more  slowly  ? " 

"  Faster,  I  think,"  said  Ikon,  after  a  pause.  "  Yes, 
faster.  I  wonder  why  ?  " 

"  If  they  were  nearer  you  would  see  them  go 
faster,"  said  Herr  Lehrer.  "  The  glass  makes  them 
seem  nearer,  and  therefore  makes  them  also  seem  to 
go  faster." 

Herr  Lehrer  put  his  hand  on  the  binocular,  turned 
it  round,  and  desired  Ikon  to  look  through  the  op- 
posite end. 

"Oh!  oh!"  cried  Ikon.  "How  funny!  Why, 
everything  has  grown  quite  tiny — oh,  it  does  look 
pretty !  I  do  like  such  a  dear  little  wee  view. 


Many  Distances.  107 


Such  little  bits  of  trees, — and  the  fence, — and  the 
clouds  too, — and  the  horse  and  cart  are  just  like 
toys." 

"  Notice  carefully,  and  then  tell  me,"  said  the  Pro- 
fessor. "  Are  the  clumps  of  trees  now  farther  apart 
from  each  other  or  closer  together,  than  when  seen 
by  your  own  unaided  sight  ?  " 

"  Closer  together.  Farther  off  from  me,  and  nearer 
to  one  another!"  said  Ikon.  "It's  all  shrunk  up 
small." 

"  Notice  again,"  said  the  Professor.  "  Do  the  horse 
and  cart  move  faster  or  more  slowly  ? " 

"Slower,"  said  Ikon.  "Not  nearly  so  fast  as 
when  I  saw  them  looking  big  through  the  other  way 
of  the  glass.  The  horse  is  like  a  toy  horse,  and  he 
just  creeps  along." 

"  Then  you  perceive,  Ikon,  that  movements  and 
distances,  as  well  as  sizes,  may  be  lessened,  or  may 
be  magnified.  Objects  which  are  more  near  to  us, 
or  which  are  made  to  appear  more  near  by  a  tele- 
scope, seem  farther  apart  one  from  another  and  move 
faster.  Objects  which  are  far  removed  from  us,  or 
which  are  made  by  this  binocular  to  appear  far,  seem 
nearer  to  one  another  and  move  more  slowly." 

Herr  Lehrer  took  the  glass  from  Ikon's  hands,  and 
put  it  away  in  his  pocket. 


io8  Among  the  Stars. 

"  This  is  what  we  are  in  imagination  doing  for  the 
sun  and  the  planets,"  he  said.  "  We  are  causing  the 
whole  to  lessen — the  sun,  the  planets,  the  distances, 
the  movements.  The  large  bulk  becomes  small  bulk; 
the  great  distance  between  one  world  and  another 
becomes  little  distance;  the  fast  movement  becomes 
slow  movement.  But  all  the  while,  the  true  propor- 
tions remain  unchanged.  The  biggest  is  still  the 
biggest;  the  farthest  is  still  the  farthest;  the  fastest 
is  still  the  fastest.  It  is  as  if  we  were  viewing  the 
Solar  System,  not  through  a  telescope  with  mag- 
nifying power,  but  through  the  wrong  end  of  my 
binocular.  By  this  means,  we  have  diminished  the 
sun  to  the  size  of  a  small  pin's  head." 

Ikon  gave  a  little  jump  of  glee. 

"  I  quite  understand  now,"  he  said.  "  And  I  do 
like  it." 

"  Here  then  is  our  sun,"  said  Herr  Lehrer,  pointing 
to  the  red  head  of  the  pin.  "  Which  planet  comes 
nearest  to  the  sun  ? " 

"  Vulcan  perhaps,"  said  Ikon.    "  Or  else  Mercury.** 

"  Vulcan  being  doubtful,  we  will  take  Mercury  as 
the  nearest.  This  little  pin  must  stand  for  Mercury, 
at  somewhat  less  than  two  inches'  distance  from  our 
sun.  Measure  with  the  ruler,  my  boy.  About  one 
inch  and  two  thirds." 


STARS. 


THE   ORBIT   OF    THE    PLANETS. 


p    108 


Many  Distances.  109 


Ikon  obeyed  eagerly,  and  the  pin  was  placed. 
Herr  Lehrer,  with  a  piece  of  white  chalk,  marked  a 
light  line  on  the  floor  around  the  central  pin. 

"This  is  the  pathway  or  orbit  of  Mercury,"  he 
said.  "  You  see  that  I  have  made  it  somewhat  oval; 
and  the  sun  is  not  exactly  in  the  centre.  That  is 
more  or  less  the  case  with  all  the  orbits.  Now  the 
next  planet." 

"  Venus,"  said  Ikon  promptly. 

"  Venus  must  be  at  a  distance  from  the  sun  of 
three  inches.  I  will  mark  this  orbit  also,  outside 
that  of  Mercury.  It  would  take  me  too  long  to 
chalk  them  all.  Perhaps  some  day  you  may  be  able 
to  do  it  yourself.  Properly,  the  planets  should  be 
scattered  round  the  sun  in  different  parts  of  their 
pathways;  not  all  be  placed  on  one  side.  Now  the 
next." 

"  Earth,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Good.  Measure  your  distance  from  the  sun- 
slightly  over  four  inches." 

"  Mars,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Six  inches  and  a  quarter  from  the  sun,"  said  Herr 
Lehrer. 

"  The  Planetoids,"  said  Ikon. 

"These  are  in  reality  scattered  widely  over  millions 
and  millions  of  miles,"  said  Herr  Lehrer.  "  But  on 


HO  Among1  the  Stars. 

this  tiny  scale,  those  nearest  to  the  sun  will  be  about 
eight  and  a  half  inches  distant;  those  farthest  will 
be  about  twelve  and  a  half  inches  distant.  Thus 
we  have  a  clear  gap  of  about  four  inches  between 
Mars  and  the  Planetoids.  We  have  also  another 
clear  gap  of  about  nine  inches  between  the  Planetoids 
and  the  next  large  world,  called — " 

"  Jupiter,"  cried  Ikon. 

"  You  have  learnt  your  lesson  well,"  said  the  Pro- 
fessor, in  a  pleased  tone.  "  Jupiter's  orbit  should  be 
about  one  foot  and  three-quarters  from  the  sun. 
You  must  imagine  four  tiny  moons  travelling  with 
him.  Then — " 

"  Saturn,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Saturn's  distance  from  the  sun  is  not  far  from 
twice  that  of  Jupiter.  Three  feet,  two  and  a  half 
inches,  from  the  red  pin." 

"It's  a  great  deal  farther  away  from  the  sun  than 
we  are,"  said  Ikon,  with  some  pity  for  Saturn. 
"  Uranus  is  next." 

"Uranus  is  quite  twice  as  far  from  the  sun  as 
Saturn.  Six  feet  and  nearly  seven  inches  from  the 
red  pin,  my  boy." 

"  O  dear  me — Uranus  must  be  cold,"  said  Ikon. 
44  And  Neptune  ? " 

"  Neptune  must  be  at  a  distance  of  ten  feet  and 


Many  Distances.  Ill 

about  three  inches.  There  ! "  said  the  Professor. 
"  Now  you  have  them  all." 

"And  that's  the  Solar  System!"  said  Ikon,  gazing 
at  the  pins. 

"That  is  a  little  picture  of  the  Solar  System,"  said 
Herr  Lehrer.  "But  you  must  fancy  these  pin-heads 
to  be  minute  balls  floating  round  the  central  sun,  with 
no  floor  to  support  them.  It  is  quite  correct  their 
being  all  placed  on  the  same  level,  for  this  is  very 
much  the  case  with  the  orbits  of  the  real  planets. 
You  must  also  picture  the  sun  as  so  intensely  bril- 
liant that,  in  spite  of  its  small  size,  it  can  light 
up  this  whole  room  with  a  certain  measure  of 
light." 

"Must  I  fancy  the  little  balls  to  be  moving?"  asked 
Ikon,  with  his  most  intent  look. 

"Yes;  all,"  said  Herr  Lehrer.  "The  sun  spins 
slowly  round  in  his  place;  and  the  specks  of  dust 
not  only  spin,  but  also  travel,  slowly  round  and  round 
him  on  their  different  orbits." 

"  Slowly;  not  fast?"  said  Ikon. 

"  The  real  planets  go  very  fast.  But  this  small 
Solar  System  would  not  have  rapid  movements,"  said 
Herr  Lehrer.  "  The  real  earth  has  a  very  long 
journey  indeed  to  perform  in  her  year  of  twelve 
months.  But  a  speck  of  dust  floating  round  this 


H2  Among  the  Stars. 

tiny  sun,  must  go  slowly  indeed  to  make  the  journey 
last  twelve  months." 

"Is  Jupiter  twelve  months  doing  his  journey?" 
asked  Ikon.  "And  Mercury  ?" 

"Mercury's  year  is  only  about  three  of  our  months," 
said  Herr  Lehrer.  "  And  Jupiter's  year  is  about 
twelve  of  our  years.  Now,  Ikon,  here  we  have  on  a 
very  small  plan,  the  positions  and  distances  of  the 
planets  or  worlds  belonging  to  our  sun.  What  of 
the  fixed  stars  ? " 

"  I  suppose  they  are  farther  away  than  even  Nep- 
tune." 

"  Much  farther.  If  our  sun  were  only  the  size  of 
this  pin's  head;  if  our  earth  were  a  speck  of  dust 
about  four  inches  off,  and  Neptune  a  larger  speck 
about  ten  feet  off — where  should  we  have  to  place 
the  nearest  fixed  star  ?  Not  the  farther  stars,  but 
the  very  nearest  about  which  we  know  anything 
certain." 

"  Perhaps  it  would  be  as  far  as  the  fireplace,"  said 
Ikon. 

"  Farther." 

"  What — would  it  be  out  of  the  room  ?  At  the 
front  door  ?  "  suggested  Ikon. 

Herr  Lehrer  shook  his  head. 

"  On  the  scale  of  sizes  and  distances  which  we  are 


Many  Distances.  113 

supposing,"  he  said,  "the  very  nearest  fixed  star,  the 
distance  of  which  is  known  to  us,  would  be  a  little 
object,  about  the  size  of  a  pin's  head  and  dazzlingly 
brilliant,  placed  fourteen  miles  away." 

Ikon  could  only  say: 

"  Oh ! " 

"  It  is  astounding; — utterly  astounding,"  said  Herr 
Lehrer.  "A  little  more  than  four  inches  of  dis- 
tance between  earth  and  sun.  About  fourteen 
miles  of  distance  between  earth  and  the  nearest 
fixed  star." 

"  But  we  shouldn't  see  it  at  all,"  said  Ikon. 

"  That  depends  upon  the  intensity  of  the  light," 
said  Herr  Lehrer. 

"  Fourteen  miles,"  repeated  Ikon. 

"About  twenty  minutes  or  more  of  journey  by  rail," 
said  Herr  Lehrer.  "  Fourteen  miles,  as  against  four 
inches.  Yet  this  little  space  of  four  inches  " — the 
Professor  stooped  to  touch  the  red-headed  pin  and 
the  pin  which  stood  for  earth — "even  this  little  space 
of  four  inches,  Ikon,  stands  for  about  ninety-one 
millions  of  miles.  Think  then  what  the  actual 
distance  of  the  stars  must  be." 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

"FAR,    FAR    AWAY." 

"  Is  the  sun  really  and  truly  ninety-one  millions  of 
miles  away  ? "  asked  Ikon. 

"  Quite  that.     Rather  more,"  said  Herr  Lehrer. 

"  I  don't  think  I  know  exactly  how  much  a 
'  million  '  means." 

"  You  know  what  a  hundred  means,  Ikon — a  hun- 
dred miles  ? " 

"  O  yes,"  Ikon  answered. 

"  Ten  hundreds  make  one  thousand.  "  So,  ten 
times  a  hundred  miles  is — " 

"A  thousand  miles,"  said  Ikon. 

"  But  ten  thousands  do  not  make  a  million;  and  a 
hundred  thousands  do  not  make  a  million.  For  a 
million  you  must  have  one  thousand  thousands." 

"  What  a  great  number  !  "  Ikon  said. 

"  So  to  fancy  a  million  miles,  you  must  think  first 
of  a  hundred, — then  of  ten  times  a  hundred,  making 


"Far,  far  Away"  115 

a  thousand, — then  of  a  thousand  times  a  thousand 
making  a  million.  And  when  you  have  reached  the 
thought  of  one  million,  you  have  to  remember  that 
the  sun  is  ninety-one  times  as  much  as  one  million 
miles  distant." 

"  And  yet  the  sun  looks  so  near  with  the  pins," 
said  Ikon.  "  Neptune  must  be — oh,  what  a  lot  of 
millions  away  !  " 

"  Every  four  inches  of  this  distance  between  the 
pin-sun  and  the  pin-Neptune  means  nearly  ninety- 
one  millions  of  miles,"  said  the  Professor. 

"  But  I  don't  see  how  anybody  can  really  know 
about  the  sun  being  such  a  way  off,  or  about  the 
number  of  miles,"  said  Ikon. 

Herr  Lehrer  smiled. 

"  Suppose  I  were  standing  on  the  brink  of  a  broad 
river,  Ikon,  and  wished  to  measure  the  width  of  the 
river.  How  should  I  do  it  ? 

"  Why,"  said  Ikon  slowly — "  why,  I  should  think — 
wouldn't  you  go  across  in  a  boat,  and  take  a  rope 
with  you,  and  tie  one  end  to  the  side  you  left,  and 
see  how  long  a  piece  of  rope  was  wanted  to  go  right 
over  ? " 

"  That  plan  might  do.  But  suppose  I  had  no  boat, 
and  no  means  of  crossing  the  river.  How  then 
should  I  measure  its  breadth  ? " 


Ii6  Among  the  Stars. 

"  You  couldn't,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Certainly  I  could.  The  thing  is  done  every  day. 
To  discover  the  width  of  a  river  without  crossing  it, 
— to  measure  the  distance  or  height  of  a  hill  far  off, — 
these  are  things  which  do  not  offer  the  slightest 
difficulty." 

"  I  don't  see  how  anybody  can,"  said  Ikon. 

"  No,  you  do  not  see  how.  Even  so  small  an  affair 
as  this  is  not  known  to  you.  Then  is  it  surprising 
that  you  cannot  tell  how  men  measure  the  great 
distances  of  sun  and  stars  ? " 

"Do  they  really?"  said  Ikon. 

"  They  do  really — of  the  sun,  and  also  of  a  few 
stars.  Not  of  many  stars,  I  grant.  I  do  not  think 
you  will  be  able  to  understand  till  you  are  a  little 
older  exactly  how  this  measuring  is  accomplished, 
though  it  really  is  a  simple  matter.  We  will  now 
leave  the  pins  alone,  and  will  look  upon  the  question 
of  distances  in  a  different  light." 

Ikon  was  all  attention. 

"  Do  you  remember  our  speaking  about  the 
diameter  of  the  earth,  and  about  how  long  it  would 
take  to  journey  through  the  earth's  centre  from 
England  to  New  Zealand  ? " 

"  Yes! "  Ikon  said.  "  The  diameter  was  more  than 
eight  thousand  miles,  you  said.  And  the  train 


"  Far,  far  Away"  117 

was  to  go  forty  miles  an  hour,  and  wasn't  ever  to 
get  faster  or  slower.  And  the  journey  would  take 
eight  days  and  a  half." 

"  Suppose,"  said  the  Professor,  "  that  you  wished 
to  travel  away  from  earth,  straight  to  the  moon. 
Suppose  a  line  of  rails  were  laid,  leading  up  into  the 
sky—" 

"  But  it  couldn't  be,"  said  Ikon. 

"  That  is  another  matter.  You  are  to  suppose 
that  it  could  be,  and  that  you  would  travel  upwards 
in  a  train  which  should  go  always  at  the  rate  of  forty 
miles  an  hour,  never  hastening  and  never  slackening 
its  speed." 

"  How  long  would  it  take  me  to  get  to  the  moon  ?" 
asked  Ikon. 

"  Not  eight  days  and  a  half,  my  boy,  but  eight 
months  and  a  half." 

"  What  a  great  way ! "  Ikon  said  in  surprise.  "  But  I 
thought  you  said  the  moon  was  quite  little  and  near.'* 

"Little,  compared  with  the  sun's  size;  near,  com- 
pared with  the  sun's  distance.  That  is  all  I  meant 
to  say.  Now  imagine  that  you  are  going  to  take 
that  same  journey  from  the  earth  to  the  sun — 
travelling  straight  there  by  train,  always  at  the  rate 
of  forty  miles  an  hour,  never  pausing  for  an  instant  on 
the  way." 


Ii8  Among-  the  Stars. 

"Yes,"  Ikon  said  eagerly. 

"  You  might  hope  to  reach  the  sun  in  two  hundred 
and  sixty  years." 

"  Why,  I  shouldn't  be  alive  at  the  end,"  cried  Ikon. 

"  Suppose  again,"  continued  the  Professor  softly 
and  slowly,  "  that  having  performed  this  great 
journey  of  two  hundred  and  sixty  years,  from  earth 
to  sun,  you.  then  wished  to  travel  from  the  sun 
direct  to  Jupiter  and  Saturn,  still  keeping  up  the 
same  speed  of  forty  miles  an  hour  continually. 
How  long  would  it  take  you  to  reach  Jupiter,  after 
leaving  the  sun  ? " 

"  How  long  ? "  asked  Ikon. 

"  About  thirteen  hundred  and  fifty  years." 

"  Oh !  "  said  Ikon,  with  a  gasp.  "  But  it  wouldn't 
take  me  so  long  to  get  to  Saturn.  Yes,  it  would, 
though — because  Saturn  is  farther  away  than 
Jupiter." 

"  On  Jupiter  you  would  not  be  much  more  than 
half-way  to  the  orbit  or  pathway  of  Saturn,"  said 
Herr  Lehrer.  "  It  might  happen  that  Saturn  would 
be  far  away  on  some  other  part  of  his  orbit,  perhaps 
quite  the  other  side  of  the  sun,  at  an  enormous 
distance.  But  we  will  suppose  that  Saturn  is  at  his 
nearest  point,  just  on  the  part  of  his  orbit  which 
lies  exactly  outside  where  Jupiter  is.  Even  so  the 


"Far,  far  Away"  119 

journey  from  Jupiter  to  Saturn  would  take  another 
eleven  hundred  years  and  more." 

"It's  dreadful,"said  Ikon  gravely.  "Please,  how  long 
is  that  straight  all  the  way  from  the  sun  to  Saturn  ? " 

"  Nearly  two  thousand  five  hundred  years  of  travel- 
ling. The  orbit  of  Uranus  lies  about  twice  as  far 
from  the  sun  as  the  orbit  of  Saturn.  So  we  may 
say  that  this  railway  journey  from  the  sun  to  Uranus 
would  occupy  about  five  thousand  years." 

"And  Neptune  is  ever  so  much  farther  still,"  said 
Ikon.  "  Would  it  take  ten  thousand  years  to  get  to 
Neptune  from  the  sun  ? " 

"  Perhaps  between  seven  and  eight  thousand.  Now 
recall  these  figures,  Ikon.  A  train,  going  always  at 
the  rate  of  forty  miles  an  hour,  would  pass  exactly 
through  the  earth  in — " 

"  Eight  days  and  a  half,"  said  I^con. 

"  From  the  earth  to  the  moon  ?  " 

"  Eight  months  and  a  half." 

"  From  the  earth  to  the  sun  ? " 

"  Two  hundred  and  sixty  years,"  said  Ikon  quickly. 

"  Well  answered.     From  the  sun  to  Saturn  ? " 

"  Two  thousand  five  hundred  years,"  Ikon  said,  not 
without  hesitation. 

"  From  the  sun  to  Uranus  ?  Twice  as  much  as  to 
Saturn—" 


I2O  Among  the  Stars. 

"  O  yes  ! — five  thousand  years." 

"  Good  !  Remember  the  last  figure — five  thou- 
sand. A  train  travelling  from  earth  to  the  nearest 
fixed  star,  going  always  at  the  same  speed,  would 
arrive  there  in — not  five  thousand  years,  Ikon — but—- 
about FIFTY  MILLIONS  OF  YEARS." 

"  O  dear  !  "  sighed  the  child.  "  I  think  I  like  best 
the  little  pin-sun,  and  the  star  only  fourteen  miles 
off." 

"  The  proportions  are  the  same.  Fourteen  miles 
compared  with  four  inches  means  no  less  a  distance, 
than  fifty  million  years  of  travelling  beside  two 
hundred  and  sixty  years.  And  you  ought  to  like 
best,"  added  the  Professor  gently — "whatever  helps 
you  to  see  most  clearly  the  wonderful  power  of 
God." 

Ikon  looked  earnestly  at  the  Professor. 

"  His  power  is  shown  in  His  works,"  added  Herr 
Lehrer. 

"  Are  the  stars  His  works  ?  "  asked  Ikon. 

"HE  made  the  stars,  child." 

"  Yes,  I  know — that  is  in  the  Bible,"  said  Ikon. 
"  '  HE  MADE  THE  STARS  ALSO.'  I  found  that  text, 
and  I  learnt  it.  Does  the  Bible  say  anything  else 
about  God  making  the  stars  ? " 

"  Bring  me  the  Bible  from  that  table,"  said  Herr 


"Far,  far  Away"  121 


Lehrer.  "  Thanks.  Now  see  if  you  can  find  the 
thirty-third  Psalm,  and  read  aloud  the  sixth  verse. 

Ikon  obeyed,  and  read  slowly: 

"  '  By  the  Word  of  the  LORD  were  the  heavens 
made;  and  all  the  host  of  them  by  the  Breath  of 
His  mouth.'" 

"The  Word  of  the  Lord  is  Christ— and  the 
Breath  of  God  is  the  Holy  Spirit,"  said  Herr 
Lehrer.  "  So  God  made  the  host  of  heaven,  Ikon." 

"  What  is  '  host '  ? "  asked  Ikon. 

"  A  host  commonly  means  an  army.  You  have 
seen  often  enough  the  glittering  host  of  stars.  Find 
the  eighth  Psalm,  and  read  the  third  verse." 

Ikon  obeyed  again: 

"  '  When  I  consider  Thy  heavens,  the  work  of 
Thy  fingers;  the  moon  and  the  stars,  which  Thou 
hast  ordained — ' " 

The  child  looked  up  with  intent  eyes,  repeating: 

"  '  The  work  of  God's  fingers  ' !  " 

"  To  be  sure,  Ikon.  What  else  would  you  have  ? 
Our  Father  speaks  to  us  in  our  own  language,"  said 
Herr  Lehrer  musingly. 

"Does  'ordained'  mean  the  same  as  'made'?" 
asked  Ikon. 

"  It  means  more.  God  made  them;  also  He  gave 
to  each  its  proper  weight,  motion,  speed;  He  placed 
9 


122  Among  the  Stars. 

each  in  its  right  position;  He  orders  and  controls 
each,  continually.  The  nineteenth  Psalm,  Ikon,  and 
the  first  verse." 

Ikon  read  aloud: 

"  '  The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God;  and  the 
firmament  showeth  His  handiwork.' " 

"  '  His  handiwork'  means  the  work  of  His  hands, 
— '  the  work  of  Thy  fingers '  again." 

"  And — '  firmament '  ? "  said  Ikon. 

"  That  is  explained  in  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis, 
seventh  verse — see:  'God  made  the  firmament,  and 
divided  the  waters  which  were  under  the  firmament 
from  the  waters  which  were  above  the  firmament; 
and  it  was  so;  and  God  called  the  firmament 
Heaven.'" 

"  The  waters  below  ? "  questioned  Ikon. 

"Seas  and  oceans — the  waters  above,  clouds  and 
vapours.  '  Firmament '  and  '  heaven  '  are  words 
both  used  for  the  space  between  clouds  and  earth. 
But  the  heavens  which  hold  God's  host  of  countless 
stars  reach  far  far  beyond,  into  distances  which  we 
cannot  even  fancy.  And  this  wonderful  'heaven1 
— these  vast  distances — those  splendid  suns  of  .light, 
Ikon — one  and  all  '  DECLARE  THE  GLORY  OF  GOD.'" 

"  I  wonder  what  He  made  them  all  for,"  the  little 
boy  said  thoughtfully. 


' 'Far,  far  Away"  123 

"  That  was  one  of  the  first  questions  which  you 
put  to  me,  Ikon,"  said  Herr  Lehrer. 

Ikon  smiled,  and  asked: 

"Did  I?" 

"  Yes;  but  I  did  not  answer  it  then." 

"  Will  you  now  ? "  inquired  the  child. 

"  It  is  answered  here,"  the  Professor  said,  touching 
the  open  Bible.  "  Find  the  fourth  chapter  of  Reve- 
lation, and  the  eleventh  verse." 

Ikon  read  aloud  with  eagerness: 

" '  Thou  art  worthy,  O  Lord,  to  receive  glory 
and  honour  and  power:  for  Thou  hast  created  all 
things,  and  for  Thy  pleasure  they  are  and  were 
created.' " 

"'FOR  THY  PLEASURE,'"  repeated  Herr  Lehrer. 
"  Don't  forget  this,  Ikon.  Whatever  in  creation 
seems  to  us  puzzling,  or  needless,  or  lacking  in 
beauty — remember  still — '  Thou  hast  created  ALL 
things — for  Thy  pleasure.'  That  is  enough  for  us. 
For  His  pleasure  they  were  made;  for  His  pleasure 
they  now  exist." 

Ikon  thought  for  some  seconds  with  a  dreamy 
look. 

"  Perhaps  there  are  people  living  on  some  of  those 
other  worlds,"  he  said. 

"  It  may  be  so,"  the  Professor  answered. 


124  Among  the  Stars. 

"  Perhaps  little  boys — doing  lessons,  and  playing 
— perhaps  on  Jupiter,"  said  Ikon. 

"  It  is,  I  think,  on  the  whole  more  likely  that  little 
boys  might  be  living  on  Mars  than  on  Jupiter,"  said 
Herr  Lehrer. 

"  Why  ?  "  asked  Ikon. 

"  From  what  we  know  of  the  present  state  of  the 
two  worlds,  it  seems  rather  the  more  probable  of 
the  two." 

"  Won't  you  tell  me  all  you  know  about  Mars  and 
Jupiter  ?  "  asked  Ikon. 

"To-day,  child?" 

"  No;  some  day,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Some  day  I  hope  to  tell  you  more,"  said  Herr 
Lehrer.  "  'All  I  know'  might  be  rather  too  much 
for  your  little  brain  as  yet.  To-morrow  I  think  we 
will  leave  the  planets  alone,  and  have  a  lesson  about 
the  seasons  on  earth." 

"  What  seasons  ? "  asked  Ikon. 

"Spring,  summer,  autumn,  and  winter,"  said  Herr 
Lehrer. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

SUMMER    AND    WINTER. 

"WE  will  go  into  the  schoolroom,  Ikon.  I  want  the 
lamp  and  your  little  globe." 

They  soon  sat  together  at  the  schoolroom  table — 
the  lamplight  falling  on  Herr  Lehrer's  silvery  beard 
and  star-like  eyes;  while  Ikon's  little  pale  face  was 
uplifted,  full  of  eager  readiness. 

"You  were  going  to  teach  me  about  the  seasons 
to-day,"  he  said.  "And  that  means  spring  and 
summer  and  autumn  and  winter." 

Herr  Lehrer  touched  the  school-globe  which  stood 
before  them,  and  said: 

"  Show  me  here  how  we  on  earth  have  day  and 
night." 

Ikon  turned  the  globe  slowly  on  its  axis. 

"  Like  that,"  he  said.  "  The  earth  goes  round  and 
round  and  round,  and  the  countries  on  the  earth  go 
round;  and  that  makes  the  sun  seem  to  rise  and  set 
every  day." 


126  Among  the 


"  Does  the  sun  seem  to  rise  all  over  the  earth  at 
once  ?  " 

"O  no?"  Ikon  replied.  "It  is  sunrise  in  one  place 
and  noonday  in  another  place,  and  sunset  and  mid- 
night in  other  places,  all  at  the  very  same  moment." 

"  How  long  is  a  '  day'?"  asked  the  Professor. 

"  Twelve  hours,"  said  Ikon. 

"No.  A  'day'  in  the  language  of  astronomers 
means  the  whole  day  of  twenty-four  hours,  including 
morning,  noon,  evening  and  midnight.  By  a  'day'  of 
twelve  hours  you  mean  simply  the  time  of  daylight." 

Ikon  nodded. 

"  But  daylight  does  not  with  us  last  always  exactly 
twelve  hours.  In  spring  and  autumn  for  a  short 
time  we  have,  it  is  true,  a  day  of  twelve  hours  and  a 
night  of  twelve  hours.  This  soon  changes.  In 
winter  the  sun  does  not  rise  till  seven  or  eight,  and 
goes  down  about  four  in  the  afternoon;  so  daylight 
is  only  eight  or  nine  hours  long,  and  darkness  lasts 
fifteen  or  sixteen  hours.  In  summer  we  have  just 
the  opposite  —  a  very  short  night,  and  very  long  day- 
light." 

"Yes;  the  sun  gets  up  quite  early  in  summer," 
said  Ikon. 

"This  difference  is  more  and  more  marked,  the 
farther  we  go  from  the  equator,"  said  Herr  Lehrer. 


Summer  and  Winter.  127 

"  Show  me  the  equator  on  the  globe.  Right.  On 
the  equator,  days  and  nights  are  always  equal,  all 
the  year  round,  just  twelve  hours  each.  But  passing 
away  from  the  equator,  either  north  or  south,  the 
days  become  longer  and  longer  in  summer,  the  nights 
longer  and  longer  in  winter,  till,  at  the  North  and 
South  Poles,  there  is  only  one  day  of  six  months 
and  one  night  of  six  months  in  the  year." 

"  I  shouldn't  like  that.  I  shouldn't  like  it  at  all," 
said  Ikon.  "  I  should  be  so  dreadfully  tired  before 
I  went  to  bed." 

"  Yes — if  you  sat  up  all  through  the  six  months* 
But  you  would  have  to  go  to  bed  in  daylight,"  said 
Herr  Lehrer.  "  That  is  what  people  do  in  northern 
countries,  when  summer  comes  round — in  Greenland, 
for  instance,  and  the  north  of  Norway.  Show  me 
Greenland  on  the  globe — and  Norway." 

"  Here — and  here,"  said  Ikon. 

"Quite  right.  Now  watch,  while  I  spin  it  slowly, 
and  tell  me — has  England  on  the  globe  a  short  or  a 
long  night  now  ?" 

"Short,"  Ikon  said.  "Quite  short.  The  top  of 
the  globe  is  turned  so  much  towards  the  lamp,  that 
the  light  shines  on  England  most  of  the  time." 

"  We  usually  call '  the  top  of  the  globe '  the  North 
Pole,"  said  Herr  Lehrer.  "  You  have  answered  truly. 


128  Among  the  Stars. 

As  the  globe  now  stands,  with  the  North  Pole  point- 
ing towards  the  lamp,  or  sun,  England  has  long; 
daylight  and  short  darkness.  That  is  England's 
summer." 

"  I  like  summer,"  said  Ikon. 

"  But  in  another  part  of  England's  year,  as  you 
know  well,  Ikon,  it  must  come  about  that  she  has 
long  darkness  and  short  daylight." 

"Yes;  we  have  had  that  lately,"  said  Ikon;  "be- 
cause it  is  winter." 

"The  full  'day'  of  twenty- four  hours  never 
changes  in  length,"  said  Herr  Lehrer.  "  The  divis- 
ions of  that  day  into  darkness  and  light  do  change, 
however,  very  much.  Now,  how  is  this  ?" 

Ikon  could  give  no  answer. 

"Why  does  not  summer   last  always?    A  few 

-months  ago  we  had  in  reality  what  England  on  this 

little  globe  has  now — long  light  and  short  darkness. 

What  has  caused  our  days  to  shorten  and  our  nights 

to  lengthen,  since  last  summer  ? " 

"  Winter  has  come,"  said  Ikon. 

"  But  why  has  winter  come  ?  Why  should  not 
summer  continue?" 

"  I  suppose — because — because  we  have  had  frost 
and  snow,"  said  Ikon. 

Herr  Lehrer  smiled. 


Summer  and   Winter.  129 

"Frost  and  snow  come  with  winter,"  he  said. 
*'  But  they  do  not  cause  winter,  my  boy.  Did  it  ever 
strike  you  that  the  sun  seemed  at  all  different  in 
summer  and  winter  ? " 

"  The  sun  isn't  so  hot  in  winter,"  said  Ikon. 

"No;  he  has  not  so  much  power.  And  the  reason 
of  the  sun  having  less  power  is  that  he  is  lower  down 
in  winter — nearer  the  horizon.  He  does  not  come 
up  high  over  our  heads,  but  only  rises  a  little  way 
and  soon  goes  down  again.  The  sun's  rays  come 
slanting  through  the  air,  instead  of  beating  straight 
upon  us  from  above." 

"  But  why  ? "  asked  Ikon.  "  What  makes  the  sun 
go  away  ? " 

"  Did  I  say  the  sun  went  away  ? " 

"No.  You  said — "  began  Ikon.  "You  said — I 
thought  you  meant  that." 

"It  is  a  curious  fact,"  said  the  Professor,  looking 
at  Ikon — "  that  we  really  are  nearer  to  the  sun  in 
winter  than  we  are  in  summer." 

"  Nearer  in  winter,"  said  astonished  Ikon. 

"  Only  about  three  millions  of  miles,"  said  the 
Professor  carelessly. 

"  But  that  is  a  heap  nearer,"  said  Ikon.  "  It  ought 
to  make  us — oh,  ever  so  much  hotter." 

"  It  does  not,"  said  the  Professor.     "  Look  here, 


130  Among  the  Stars. 

Ikon — suppose  a  fly  were  standing  on  my  knee, 
would  he  feel  the  heat  of  the  fire  ? " 

"Why — no — yes,"  Ikon  said.  "I  suppose  the  fire 
would  make  him  warm." 

"  No  doubt;  for  if  there  were  no  fire,  he  would  be 
colder.  Now,  suppose  he  walked  one  quarter  of  an 
inch  nearer  to  the  fire,  still  remaining  on  my  knee. 
Would  he  feel  a  great  increase  of  heat  ? " 

Ikon  laughed,  and  said: 

"  He  wouldn't  feel  the  least  bit  of  difference.  He 
wouldn't  even  know  he  was  nearer." 

"You  have  answered  yourself,"  said  the  Professor 
quietly.  "  We  ourselves  do  not  feel  '  the  least  bit 
of  difference';  and  by  feeling  we  should  not  know 
that  we  are  nearer.  It  can  only  be  known  by  care- 
ful measurement.  The  three  millions  of  miles,  in 
our  great  distance  from  the  sun,  are  much  the  same 
as  one  quarter  of  an  inch  on  my  knee  would  be  in 
the  distance  of  a  fly,  standing  here,  from  the  fire. 

After  a  moment,  the  Professor  added: 

"At  the  same  time,  it  probably  does  make  some 
difference.  In  the  northern  hemisphere,  we  are 
nearer  the  sun  in  winter  and  farther  in  summer.  This 
probably  causes  our  winters  to  be  just  a  little  milder, 
and  our  summers  just  a  little  less  hot.  For  in  the 
southern  hemisphere,  where  they  are  nearer  to  the 


Summer  and  Winter.  131 

sun  in  summer  and  farther  away  from  the  sun  in 
winter,  both  summer  and  winter  are  more  severe." 

"What  does  really  make  summer  and  winter?" 
asked  Ikon. 

Herr  Lehrer  stood  up,  and  said: 

"  Now  look  once  more  carefully  upon  the  globe  as 
it  stands.  The  North  Pole  is,  you  see,  towards  the 
lamp — pointing  towards  the  fireplace  end  of  the 
room." 

"  Yes,"  said  Ikon. 

"We  are  going  to  let  the  globe  take  a  journey  round 
the  lamp;  just  as  the  earth  takes  her  yearly  journey 
round  the  sun.  But  as  it  moves,  we  must  take  care 
that  the  North  Pole  always  point  sin  that  same  direction. 
For  this  is  the  case  with  our  earth.  The  North 
Pole  of  the  earth  points  always  to  the  Pole-star." 

"  I  remember  the  Pole-star  quite  well,"  said  Ikon. 
"  I  saw  it  in  daylight  through  Mr.  Fritz's  telescope." 

"  The  earth  never  turns  so  as  to  point  with  its  North 
Pole  just  the  other  way,"  said  Herr  Lehrer.  "  We 
must  not  allow  this  globe  to  veer  about  as  it  journeys, 
so  that  the  South  Pole,  instead  of  the  North,  should 
point  towards  the  fireplace  end  of  the  room." 

"  But  the  earth  does  turn  round  and  round,"  said 
Ikon,  in  a  puzzled  tone. 

"  The  earth  spins  upon  her  axis,  as  I  now  make 


132  Among  the  Stars. 

this  globe  spin.  Notice,  however,  that  the  axis  itself 
does  not  move  about.  It  remains  steady.  The 
North  and  South  Poles  do  not  sway  to  and  fro.  See; 
I  may  spin  as  fast  as  I  like,  and  the  countries  rush 
round;  but  still  the  North  Pole  points  in  the  same 
direction,  never  changing." 

Ikon  said  "  Yes,"  in  an  earnest  tone. 

"  As  the  globe  spins,  and  as  the  North  Pole  points 
ever  to  the  north,  you  may  see  that  England  now 
has  short  nights  and  long  days.  So  too  have  France, 
Germany,  and  other  parts  of  Europe.  For  it  is 
SUMMER  to  the  northern  half  of  the  world,  that  half 
being  bent  or  turned  towards  the  sun.  How  about 
the  south  ?  Look  at  New  Zealand." 

"  New  Zealand  is  right  away  from  the  lamp — I 
mean,  the  sun,"  said  Ikon.  "  And  it  has  short  days 
and  long  nights." 

"  You  see,  then,  that  summer  for  the  north  means 
winter  for  the  south.  Do  you  remember  asking  me 
once  why  your  little  globe  was  set  thus — slanting 
instead  of  straight  ? " 

"  Yes;  and  you  said  my  globe  was  made  so  because 
the  real  earth  does  slant,"  replied  Ikon. 

"  Suppose  the  axis  did  not  slant,"  said  Herr  Lehrer. 
"  See — If  I  hold  it  thus,  with  the  North  Pole  pointing 
to  the  ceiling  and  the  South  Pole  to  the  floor — which 


Summer  and  Winter.  133 

part  of  the  earth  would  have  summer,  and  which 
would  have  winter  ? " 

"  I  don't  see — any  part — more  like  summer  than 
another,"  Ikon  said,  after  some  thought. 

"  Right.  There  would  be  no  summer  in  one  part 
more  than  another.  Nights  and  days  would  be 
exactly  equal  all  over  the  earth.  And  as  I  carry  the 
globe  round  the  lamp  with  the  axis  still  upright, — see, 
the  same  state  of  things  continues.  There  are  no 
changes  of  season — no  summer  and  winter,  no  spring 
and  autumn." 

"  Wouldn't  that  be  nice  ? "  asked  the  little  boy. 

"It  may  seem  'nice'  to  us,"  Herr  Lehrer  an- 
swered, smiling.  "We  should,  however,  lose  many 
advantages  as  well  as  some  disadvantages.  I  do  not 
think  we  are  well  able  to  judge  which  is  really  the 
nicer;  and  I  am  quite  sure  that  God  knows  what  is 
best  for  us.  Now  we  will  come  back  to  where  we 
were  before,  and  I  will  once  more  place  the  globe  in 
its  right  position,  with  the  axis  slanting,  and  with 
the  North  Pole  pointing  towards  the  fireplace  end  of 
the  room.  Which  season  have  we  now  ? " 

"  Summer,"  said  Ikon.  • 

"Summer  for  the  northern  hemisphere ;  and 
winter  for  the  southern." 

Herr  Lehrer  walked  round  the  table  a  little  way, 


134  Among  the  Stars. 

bearing  the  globe,  and  keeping  its  North  Pole  still 
pointing  steadily  towards  the  same  wall  as  before. 

"  Now,  Ikon,  we  have  a  change.  The  North  Pole 
no  longer  is  directed  towards  the  sun;  but  the  lamp- 
light falls  on  North  and  South  Poles  in  equal  measure. 
This  is  what  we  call  the  equinox,  or  the  time  of  equal 
nights.  Twice  in  the  year  for  a  short  time,  days  and 
nights  are  of  equal  length — twelve  hours  each — all 
over  the  world." 

"  Just  as  if  the  axis  was  upright,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Yes;  only  they  do  not  remain  equal.  Since  the 
summer,  England's  days  have  been  shortening  and 
her  nights  lengthening,  till  each  are  exactly  twelve 
hours  long.  In  New  Zealand,  on  the  contrary,  days 
have  beenlengthening  and  nights  shortening,  till  there 
also  both  are  just  twelve  hours  in  length.  So  now 
we  have  the  AUTUMN  equinox  for  England,  and  the 
SPRING  equinox  for  New  Zealand,  at  the  same  time." 

The  Professor  moved  on  a  little  farther,  making 
the  north  pole  of  the  globe  point  steadily  still  to- 
wards the  fireplace  end  of  the  room.  Exactly 
opposite  his  first  position,  he  stood  still. 

"  Now,  Ikon,  you  may  see  a  marked  change.  The 
South  Pole  is  turned  towards  the  lamp;  the  North 
Pole  is  turned  away.  England  now  has  winter; 
long  nights  and  short  days;  the  sun  not  rising  high, 


Summer  and  Winter.  135 

•and  having  little  power.  But  New  Zealand  is  enjoy- 
ing full  summer,  with  long  days  and  short  nights." 

The  Professor  again  moved  on,  till  opposite  his 
second  halting-place,  where  he  had  shown  the 
"autumn  equinox"  of  England. 

"  Notice,  Ikon,"  he  said — "how  once  more  neither 
North  Pole  nor  South  Pole  points  to  the  lamp,  but 
both  receive  the  same  amount  of  light.  All  over  the 
world,  days  and  nights  are  equal — England's  day 
having  grown  longer,  and  New  Zealand's  shorter, 
till  each  again  is  exactly  twelve  hours  long.  This  is 
England's  SPRING  equinox,  and  New  Zealand's 
AUTUMN  equinox." 

Herr  Lehrer  moved  on  once  more,  and  reached 
his  first  position. 

"  Here  we  are,  at  the  point  from  which  we  started. 
England  is  in  the  blaze  of  summer,  with  lengthened 
days  and  shortened  nights;  while  New  Zealand  has 
passed  into  winter  cold  and  darkness." 

Ikon  was  delighted.  He  could  not  be  content  till 
he  had  carried  the  globe  himself  round  the  table. 
Two  or  three  attempts  were  failures;  for  the  North 
Pole  had  an  awkward  trick  of  pointing  about  any- 
where and  everywhere  in  his  hands;  and  also  he 
could  not  quickly  learn  that  troublesome  word 
"equinox."  But  at  length  a  successful  tour  of  the 


136  Among  the  Stars. 

lamp  was  made,  each  season  having  its  right  name 
given  at  the  right  moment. 

"  That  is  the  way  the  earth  travels  round  the  sun,'* 
said  Herr  Lehrer. 

Then  he  seemed  to  be  thinking. 

"  Ikon,  I  have  something  to  say  that  will  make 
you  sorry." 

Ikon  looked  up  with  a  face  of  alarm. 

"  I  am  going  away  early  to-morrow  morning;  so 
this  will  be  our  last  lesson  for  the  present." 

"  Going  away  !  "  said  Ikon,  in  dismay. 

"I  did  not  expect  to  leave  so  soon,  but  unexpected 
news  has  made  it  needful." 

Ikon's  eyes  were  full,  and  he  could  not  speak. 

"  I  quite  hope  to  come  back  again  some  day: 
perhaps  very  soon,"  said  Herr  Lehrer. 

"  I  did  want — to  learn — such — such  lots  more,'* 
half-sobbed  Ikon. 

"So  you  will;  so  you  may,"  said  the  Professor. 
"  Keep  in  mind  all  I  have  taught  you;  and  some  day 
I  hope  to  come  again  and  teach  you  more.  I  have 
quite  enjoyed  our  little  chats  together.  And,  Ikon — 
don't  look  so  sad,  for  I  have  something  to  say.  If 
you  have  any  questions  to  ask,  or  if  you  think  of 
anything  which  puzzles  you,  then  you  may  write  to 
me." 


Summer  and  Winter.  137 

"  May  I  really  write  by  post  ? "  asked  Ikon. 

"Yes;  certainly  you  may.  I  will  give  you  some 
envelopes,  ready  directed.  So  now  do  not  be  un- 
happy any  more.  Remember,  I  really  mean  to  come 
again,  perhaps  very  soon." 

Ikon  dried  his  eyes,  and  tried  to  be  cheerful.  But 
he  found  it  hard  work  next  morning  to  say  good-bye; 
and  the  house  afterwards  felt  strangely  desolate, 
without  the  kind  Professor  in  and  out. 

Still — Ikon  had  the  envelopes,  all  directed  and 
stamped  and  ready  for  little  notes  to  be  put  inside. 
That  was  one  comfort. 


JO 


CHAPTER   XV. 

LETTERS   TO   AND   FRO. 

ABOUT  one  week  after  Herr  Lehrer's  departure, 
Ikon's  first  letter  was  sent  off.  It  cost  him  much 
time  and  trouble. 

Letter  I. 
"DEAR  HERR  LEHRER, 

"  Please,  I  do  not  think  you  ever  told  me  about 
whether  the  stars  can  die.  I  am  afraid  it  is  a  silly 
question,  but  I  do  want  to  know  so  much.  And  I 
want  to  know  the  name  of  my  star  that  I  could  not 
find — at  least,  the  name  that  you  thought  might  be 
the  one.  Is  that  star  of  mine  really  a  big  sun  ? 
"  I  am,  your  affectionate 

"IKON." 

Answer  to  Letter  I. 
"MY  DEAR  IKON, 

"  The  name  which  I  supposed  to  belong  to 
'  your  star '  was  ARCTURUS. 


Letters    To  and  Fro.  139 

"  Arcturus  is  a  large  beautiful  sun,  very  very  far 
away.  If  Arcturus  were  where  our  sun  is  now,  it 
would  look  to  us  at  least  as  large  and  bright  as  the 
sun  does. 

"Arcturus  is  one  of  the  'fixed  stars.'  But  that 
does  not  mean  that  this  star  really  never  moves. 
We  know  of  no  star  with  more  rapid  movement 
than  Arcturus.  To  men  he  does  indeed  seem  to 
remain  almost  in  the  same  place  in  the  sky  among 
other  stars.  Yet  all  the  while  Arcturus  is  rushing 
through  space  at  the  great  speed  of  about  fifty-four 
miles  each  second.  Not  forty  miles  an  hour,  like  the 
train  we  have  talked  of,  but  fifty-four  miles  a  second. 
Think  of  this  ! 

"  So  you  want  to  know  whether  a  star  can  ever 
die. 

"  I  wonder  what  you  mean  by  '  dying.'  A  star  has 
not  life  like  a  little  boy.  The  light  of  a  star  might 
die  out,  if  God  so  willed,  leaving  a  cold  and  dark 
body — just  as  a  furnace-fire  may  die  out,  leaving 
cold  cinders  behind.  One  or  two  stars  have  been 
known  to  vanish;  and  we  suppose  that  their  light 
may  have  died  out,  or  have  grown  too  faint  for  us 
to  see. 

"  Once  upon  a  time  our  own  earth  was  most  likely 
a  little  star,  all  aflame  and  brilliant.  But  the  fires 


140  Among  the  Stars. 

of  earth  have  died  out  long  ago;  and  after  being 
through  long  ages  a  very  hot  ball,  earth  has  slowly 
cooled  down  to  her  present  state.  The  little  star 
has  turned  into  a  little  planet. 

"  If  the  earth  now  shines — as  we  know  she  does — 
she  shines  only  with  borrowed  sunlight.  Yet  I  do 
not  think  you  would  call  ours  a  dead  world,  Ikon. 
There  is  much  more  of  life  on  earth  now,  than  in 
the  days  when  she  was  a  little  star,  blazing,  and 
shining  with  her  own  radiance. 

"Your  affectionate  friend, 

"  A.  LEHRER." 

Letter  II. 
"DEAR  HERR  LEHRER, 

"  I  do  like  to  think  of  our  earth  being  a  dear 
little  star !  But  I  am  glad  it  is  not  now,  because 
then  I  suppose  we  couldn't  live  on  it. 

"Were  all  the  planets  stars  once  upon  a  time? 
And  please,  will  all  the  stars  be  worlds  by-and-by, 
if  they  get  cold  enough  ? 

"  Oh,  and  there  is  something  else.  Do  all  the 
planets  lean  over  like  our  earth;  so  as  to  have  summer 
and  winter  and  all  that  ? 

"  Thank  you  so  very  much  for  your  kind  letter.  I 
have  read  it  six  times,  and  I  am  your  affectionate 

"  IKON." 


Letters   To  and  Fro.  141 

Answer  to  Letter  II. 

"  MY  DEAR  IKON, 

"  I  am  pleased  to  see  you  exercising  your  little 
brain  on  these  matters.  Only  remember  that  we 
cannot  always  give  the  answers  to  such  questions. 
Our  Father  in  Heaven  knows;  but  often  we  do  not. 

"  It  seems  likely  that  all  the  planets  were  once, 
long  long  ago,  globes  of  heat  and  flame  and  light, 
much  like  the  sun,  only  a  great  deal  smaller. 

"  Some  of  them  are  now  quite  cooled  down,  like 
our  earth.  Some  perhaps  are  even  more  thoroughly 
cooled;  since  a  goodly  amount  of  heat  still  remains 
in  the  earth,  deep  underground.  Some  are  probably 
much  less  cooled  than  the  earth.  Jupiter,  for  in- 
stance, being  so  enormous  in  size,  would  take  much 
longer  than  our  little  earth  to  become  cool.  And 
certain  signs  make  us  believe  that  both  Jupiter  and 
Saturn  are  still  in  a  very  heated  state — not  covered 
with  great  flames,  like  the  sun,  yet  far  too  hot  for 
any  human  beings  to  live  there. 

"  As  for  the  stars, — I  cannot  say  what  purposes 
God  may  have  for  them,  in  the  far  far  distance. 
The  mighty  furnace-fires  of  sun  and  stars  will  last, 
I  suspect,  much  longer  than  you  or  I  are  well  able  to 
imagine.  But  it  is  possible  that  some  of  the  smaller 


142  Among  the  Stars. 

fainter  stars  are  parting  with  their  heat  more  quickly. 
We  know  very  little  as  to  all  this. 

"  The  planets  do  slant,  my  boy,  each  one  more  or 
less,  like  our  earth.  Jupiter  is  placed  almost  upright; 
so  there  are  days  and  nights  of  nearly  equal  length, 
all  over  Jupiter,  all  his  year  round.  Venus  again 
seems  to  lie  over  very  much  indeed,  far  more  than 
our  earth  does;  and  this,  one  would  fancy,  must 
cause  rather  unpleasant  changes  of  season. 
"  Believe  me, 

"  Your  affectionate  friend, 

"A.  LEHRER." 

Letter  III. 

"DEAR  HERR  LEHRER, 

"I  hope  you  won't  think  me  a  great  trouble. 
You  said  once  that  people  are  more  likely  to  be  living 
on  Mars  than  on  Jupiter.  And  I  should  like  so  much 
to  know  why.  Is  it  because  Jupiter  is  so  hot  still  ? 
Would  you  mind  telling  me,  please  ? 

"Your  affectionate, 

"  IKON." 

Answer  to  Letter  III.  • 
"MY  DEAR  IKON, 

"  If  Jupiter  is  in  such  a  state  of  heat  as  some 


Letters    To  and  Fro.  143 

believe,  he  would  make  a  very  uncomfortable  home 
for  men. 

"Do  you  remember  seeing  Jupiter  with  his  four 
moons  through  the  telescope  ?  Do  you  remember 
the  curious  markings  or  belts  on  Jupiter  ? 

"Those  belts  of  colour  are  believed  to  be  enormous 
masses  of  cloud.  Jupiter  seems  to  be  quite  en- 
wrapped in  clouds. 

"  It  is  a  rather  puzzling  question,  what  causes 
these  clouds  to  remain  always  floating  above  Jupiter. 
The  sun  can  have  little  power  at  that  great  distance 
— five  times  as  great  as  his  distance  from  us.  It 
seems  quite  out  of  the  question  that  the  heat  of  the 
sun  alone  can  draw  up  such  enormous  quantities  of 
vapour,  and  keep  them  floating  as  clouds  above 
Jupiter. 

"  But  if  Jupiter  himself  is  very  hot  still — so  hot 
that  water  on  him  would  all  boil  away  into  steam — 
then  the  puzzle  is  at  an  end. 

"  This  vast  cloudland  above  Jupiter  must  be  a 
very  stormy  and  wild  cloudland.  Such  tremendous 
storms  are  seen  to  sweep  along,  through  the  tele- 
scope, that  the  worst  hurricanes  of  earth  are  nothing 
beside  them. 

"You  know  what  a  'hurricane'  is,  I  hope.  If 
not,  ask  Miss  Mundy. 


144  Among  the  Stars. 

"  There  are  other  reasons  which  make  us  believe 
Jupiter  to  be  still  in  a  very  hot  state.  One  reason  is 
that  he  seems  to  shine  more  brilliantly  than  the  sun 
alone  would  make  him  shine  at  that  distance. 

"  Mars  is  in  quite  a  different  state  from  Jupiter. 

"  We  really  know  more  of  Mars  than  of  any  other 
planet.  Mercury  and  Venus  seem  to  be  much 
covered  with  white  clouds — owing  most  likely  to  the 
heat  of  the  sun.  Mercury  and  Venus  are  nearer  to 
the  sun,  you  know,  than  we  are.  But  Mars  is  farther 
away. 

"  Clouds  are  seen  to  drift  over  Mars,  just  as  they 
drift  over  earth.  But  the  surface  or  ground  of  Mars 
is  plainly  to  be  seen.  And  there  are  very  odd  mark- 
ings, with  red  and  green  tints,  which  seem  to  show 
land  and  water.  But  Mars  has  less  sea  than  we 
have.  If  people  really  do  live  on  Mars — and  about 
this  we  know  nothing — they  never  need  be  sea-sick. 
Every  journey  might  just  as  well  be  taken  by  land  as 
by  sea. 

"  Something  else  on  Mars  is  very  interesting.  We 
can  see  round  white  caps  at  the  North  and  South 
Poles. 

"  You  know,  I  dare  say,  that  we  always  have  snow 
at  our  North  and  South  Poles.  It  lasts  the  whole 
year;  but  in  the  northern  summer,  there  is  less  snow 


Letters   To  and  Fro.  145 

at  the  North  Pole,  and  more  snow  at  the  South  Pole; 
and  in  the  southern  summer,  there  is  less  snow  at 
the  South  Pole,  and  more  snow  at  the  North  Pole. 

"Now,  the  very  same  thing  seems  to  happen  on 
Mars.  We  see  plainly  these  little  white  caps  at  the 
two  poles.  When  the  North  Pole  of  Mars  is  turned 
towards  the  sun,  then  the  northern  white  cap  grows 
less,  and  the  southern  white  cap  which  is  turned 
away  from  the  sun  grows  bigger.  But  when  the 
South  Pole  of  Mars  is  turned  towards  the  sun,  then 
the  southern  white  cap  grows  less,  and  the  northern 
white  cap  which  is  turned  away  from  the  sun  grows 
bigger. 

"Is  not  this  strange?  So  Mars  seems  to  have, 
not  only  clouds  and  rain,  and  land  and  water,  but 
also  frost  and  snow,  and  summer  and  winter,  very 
much  like  our  own. 

"  And  is  it  not  wonderful  that  men  should  be  able 
to  find  out  all  this  about  a  world  so  many  many 
millions  of  miles  away  ? 

"  Your  affectionate  friend, 

"  A  LEHRER." 

Letter  IV. 
"  DEAR  HERR  LEHRER, 

"  May  I  ask  you  about  the  moon  ?     I  want  te 


146  Among  the  Stars. 

know  what  the  man  is,  with  the  bundle  of  sticks. 
And  is  there  anybody  perhaps  living  there  ?  And 
does  the  moon  seem  as  much  like  our  earth  as  Mars 
does  ? 

"  I  have  not  forgotten  that  the  moon  is  2,000  miles 
in  di — I  don't  know  how  to  spell  that  word — I 
mean,  straight  through  the  middle.  And  if  the 
world  was  as  big  as  a  marble,  the  moon  would  be  as 
little  as  a  pea.  And  you  said  the  moon  was  a  moon, 
but  it  really  was  a  little  planet  too. 

"  Papa  took  me  out  in  the  garden  last  night  quite 
late,  to  see  a  balloon.  And  I  ran  to  the  end  of  the 
terrace,  and  saw  the  moon  shining  down  on  the  sea, 
and  on  a  big  rock.  There  was  a  man  trying  to  fish; 
and  it  did  look  so  pretty. 

"  I  liked  your  last  letter  so  very  very  much,  and  I 
read  it  lots  of  times,  and  I  am, 

"  Your  affectionate 

"  IKON." 

Answer  to  Letter  IV. 
"  MY  DEAR  IKON, 

"  I  am  very  busy  and  can  only  write  a  hurried 
letter  to-day.  But  I  am  sending  you  a  little  book, 
which  tells  you  about  the  moon.  Much  of  the  book 
is  too  hard  for  you;  but  I  have  marked  certain  parts. 


Letters    To  and  Fro.  147 

"  The  moon  is  of  great  interest  to  all  of  us,  because 
she  is  our  near  companion,  and  in  a  sense  our 
servant. 

"  Yes — the  moon,  though  a  moon,  is  also  a  little 
planet.  And  while  the  moon  travels  round  and 
round  the  earth,  she  also  travels  round  and  round 
the  sun. 

"  You  are  quite  right  about  the  size  of  the 
moon — about  2,000  miles  in  diameter.  With  re- 
gard to  her  distance,  you  already  know  that  a 
railway  train,  going  always  at  the  rate  of  forty 
miles  an  hour,  might  reach  her  in  eight  months 
and  a  half. 

"  The  moon  appears  to  us  much  more  like  a  dead 
world  than  any  other  which  we  know. 

"  All  over  the  moon  there  are  great  numbers  of 
curious  round  hollows.  Some  of  these  are  very  big 
— as  much  as  one  hundred  miles  across  and  more. 
Some  are  quite  small.  The  whole  face  of  the  moon 
seems  to  be  quite  pitted  with  them,  like  the  face  of 
a  man  badly  marked  with  small-pox.  A  picture  of 
part  of  the  moon  in  the  little  book  I  am  sending 
you,  will  show  what  I  mean. 

"  These  round  hollows,  or  at  any  rate,  the  larger 
ones,  are  believed  to  be  craters  of  volcanoes.  Only 
the  volcanoes  in  the  moon  seem  to  be  all  now 


148  Among-  the  Stars. 

dead  and  silent — not  active,  like  the  volcanoes  on 
earth. 

"  We  can  also  see  mountains  on  the  moon,  and 
shadows  cast  by  the  mountains;  and  there  are  light 
parts  and  grey  parts.  These  are  the  markings  which 
look  to  you  like  a  man  with  a  bundle  of  sticks. 

"  So  far  as  we  can  tell,  there  is  no  water  on  the 
moon.  There  are  no  seas,  no  rivers,  no  lakes,  no 
streams,  no  brooks.  There  is  little  or  no  air — cer- 
tainly not  enough  for  a  man  to  breathe.  No  ani- 
mals can  live  there;  no  plants  or  trees  can  grow 
there. 

"  You  must  try  to  fancy  a  bleak  and  barren  land, 
with  harsh  rocks,  and  rugged  mountains,  and 
deep  hollows.  Nothing  soft  or  green  or  smiling 
about  it. 

"The  sunlight  there  falls  with  intense  brightness, 
and  casts  black  shadows.  Overhead  there  is  a  black 
instead  of  a  blue  sky;  with  stars  shining  at  the  same 
time  as  the  sun;  and  a  splendid  earth  in  the  sky, 
instead  of  a  moon.  You  will  find  all  this  and  more, 
in  the  little  book. 

"The  moon's  day  lasts  about  fourteen  of  our  days, 
and  her  night  is  the  same  length.  Such  a  day  of 
glaring  fearful  heat — and  such  a  night  of  awful  cold 
— as  we  cannot-  even  picture  to  ourselves. 


Letters   To  and  Fro.  149 

"  The  want  of  air  and  water  in  the  moon  causes 
all    this    great    difference    between    her    and    our 
earth. 
"  And  now  I  have  not  another  minute. 

"  Your  affectionate  friend, 

"A.  LEHRER." 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

A  DREAM  WITHOUT  AN  ENDING. 

IT  was  long  before  Ikon  could  write  again.  The 
exchange  of  letters  came  suddenly  to  an  end,  for 
Ikon  fell  ill. 

During  some  days  he  read  eagerly  the  little  book 
about  the  moon,  hardly  ever  content  to  let  it  out  of 
his  hands.  All  marked  parts,  and  some  parts  that 
were  not  marked,  he  read  and  re-read,  going  over 
them  again  and  again,  till  they  were  quite  fixed  in 
his  memory. 

Dormer  was  uneasy  about  all  this  reading,  and 
she  would  fain  have  made  him  spend  his  time  in 
play.  But  perhaps  the  beginning  of  the  illness  was 
already  on  Ikon;  for  he  seemed  fretful,  and  would 
not  do  as  Dormer  wished.  And  Dormer  could  not 
bear  to  oppose  him. 

There  was,  as  Herr  Lehrer  had  said,  much  in  the 
little  book  that  Ikon  could  not  understand.  Still, 


A  Dream  without  an  Ending.  151 

many  facts  were  clear,  and  as  soon  as  Ikon  grasped 
them,  his  quick  imagination  found  fresh  food  to  work 
upon. 

The  moon  grew  to  be  a  real  though  strange  world 
to  him — almost  what  fairyland  is  to  many  children. 

He  used  to  sit  over  the  fire  in  his  playroom, 
pondering  the  subject  in  long  half-waking  dreams. 
And  at  night,  when  Dormer  had  taken  away  the 
candle,  he  would  steal  out  of  bed,  and  draw  aside 
the  window-curtain,  and  lie  watching  the  soft  round 
face  with  its  silvery  smile. 

There  was  a  very  pretty  view  out  of  this  window 
of  a  cottage  some  little  way  off,  outside  the  garden. 
Tall  poplar  trees  grew  beside  the  cottage,  and  a  piece 
of  water  lay  near,  crossed  by  a  bridge. 

Ikon  delighted  in  the  shining  of  the  moon  upon 
this  pond,  with  the  dark  tree-shadows  lying  beside 
the  bright  path  of  moonbeams. 

He  had  often  noticed  how  stars  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  moon  disappeared — their  little  glimmer 
quite  put  out  by  her  brilliance.  But  one  evening  he 
was  much  interested  to  see  a  bright  star  quite  near 
the  moon.  It  must  have  been  a  very  bright  star  to 
shine  on  still,  through  the  moon's  radiance.  Ikon 
wondered  if  perhaps  that  was  his  own  dear  lost  star, 
come  back  again. 


152  Among  the  Stars. 

Sometimes,  in  these  moods,  he  would  try  to  picture 
a  journey  to  the  moon;  a  ceaseless  upward  rush  by 
train  for  eight  long  months  and  a  half. 

Or  better  still — suppose  he  had  wings  and  could 
fly  there  !  How  delightful  that  would  be;  Ikon 
never  forgot  what  the  Professor  had  once  said  about 
"Wings  of  Imagination."  He  used  to  get  a  little 
confused  now  and  then,  and  could  not  feel  quite  sure 
whether  he  wished  for  real  wings  or  imaginary  wings. 
But  he  had  no  doubt  at  all  that  he  would  have  liked 
a  real  journey  to  the  moon. 

In  the  midst  of  all  this  Ikon  fell  suddenly  ill. 

He  was  not  in  danger.  It  proved,  however,  to  be 
a  tedious  sort  of  attack,  and  Ikon  was  greatly  pulled 
down  by  it.  He  had  to  spend  nearly  a  fortnight 
in  bed;  and  he  grew  very  weary  of  imprison- 
ment. 

Part  of  the  time  his  mind  wandered  slightly,  and 
he  had  many  strange  fancies.  But  it  was  not  till  he 
was  much  better,  and  Dormer  had  ceased  to  be 
anxious,  that  he  had  one  day  an  odd  and  disappoint- 
ing dream  about  a  visit  to  the  moon.  That  he 
should  dream  thus  was  hardly  surprising.  His  little 
head  had  been  so  full  of  the  subject,  that  a  dream 
might  have  come  quite  naturally. 

For  the  first  time  Dormer  had  lifted  the  child  out 


MOONLIGHT   ON    THE   STREAM. 


STARS. 


p.  152. 


A  Dream  without  an  Ending.  153 

of  bed  to  the  sofa,  for  an  hour  or  two.  While  there, 
after  having  early  tea,  he  fell  fast  asleep.  It  was 
just  about  the  time  that  Herr  Lehrer  had  often  given 
him  a  lesson  about  the  stars;  and  perhaps  this  was 
Ikon's  last  waking  thought. 

He  fancied  himself  in  his  little  playroom,  lying  on 
the  rug  before  the  fire,  watching  for  Herr  Lehrer's 
coming. 

It  seemed  to  him  in  his  dream  that  he  had  waited 
long;  and  he  was  growing  impatient.  Still,  he  felt 
sure  that  his  friend  would  not  fail  to  arrive. 

His  certainty  proved  well  founded.  All  at  once 
a  voice  said  cheerily: 

"  Get  up,  Ikon,  get  up.  Make  haste.  We  have 
no  time  to  lose." 

Ikon  rose  slowly,  feeling  dazed.  Herr  Lehrer 
stood  near,  looking  both  like  and  unlike  himself. 
The  silvery  beard  and  starry  eyes  were  unchanged; 
but  the  Professor  wore  flowing  robes;  and,  to  Ikon's 
amazement,  a  pair  of  strong  yet  shadowy  wings  were 
folded  behind  his  shoulders. 

"  Get  up,  Ikon.  Get  up,"  repeated  Herr  Lehrer. 
"We  have  a  long  journey  before  us." 

Ikon  rubbed  his  eyes,  and  said: 

"  I  must  have  been  asleep.     I  didn't  know  I  was 
ii 


154  Among  the  Stars. 

going  on  a  journey.  O  what  beautiful  wings  !  I 
wish  I  had  wings  too." 

"  See  ! "  Herr  Lehrer  said,  pointing  to  a  large  look- 
ing-glass, which  somehow  occupied  one  wall  of  the 
playroom. 

Ikon  felt  no  surprise  at  seeing  the  glass;  but  it 
did  astonish  him  to  perceive  a  reflection  of  himself, 
with  just  such  another  pair  of  wings  behind  the 
shoulders. 

"  How  funny  !  "  Ikon  said,  laughing  with  joy.  "I 
never  had  wings  before." 

"  Really  !  But  everybody  has  wings,"  said  Herr 
Lehrer. 

"  Everybody  !  "  repeated  Ikon. 

"Certainly,"  the  Professor  said.  "Or  else  the 
stumps  of  them." 

"Mine  are  not  only  stumps,"  said  Ikon,  with  a 
sense  of  satisfaction. 

"  Decidedly  not,"  said  Herr  Lehrer.  "  Very  well 
grown  wings  indeed." 

"  Herr  Lehrer  said  I  had  Wings  of  Imagination," 
murmured  Ikon. 

"Of  course  he  did,"  was  the  answer;  and  Ikon 
wondered  vaguely  whether  this  winged  visitor  really 
were  the  Professor  after  all.  The  other  did  not 
seem  to  notice  his  perplexity. 


A  Dream  without  an  Ending.  155 

"Are  these  Wings  of  Imagination  ?"  Ikon  inquired. 

"  Certainly,"  his  companion  said. 

"  And  can  I  fly  away  with  them  ?  "  asked  Ikon. 

"Undoubtedly,"  Herr  Lehrer  said. 

"  And  where  are  we  going,  please  ? "  was  Ikon's  next 
question. 

"  Where  !  You  ask  where,  child !  "  Herr  Lehrer 
drew  nearer,  and  gazed  hard  into  Ikon's  face. 
*'  Have  you  forgotten  your  wish  so  soon  ?  A  visit 
to  the  moon,  Ikon — the  moon  !  " 

"  Can  we  really  and  truly  go  ? "  asked  Ikon. 

"  Certainly,"  answered  the  Professor,  nodding  his 
head.  "  Certainly." 

"  And  the  sun  too  !  "  cried  Ikon.     "  May  we  pay  a 
visit  to  the  sun  ?     And  Mars,  and  Jupiter  ?     Oh,  and 
Sirius — and  Arcturus — and  lots  of  stars  !  " 
-,     "  The  moon  to-night !  "  Herr  Lehrer  said  solemnly. 

"  But  it  will  take  a  great  while  to  go,"  said  Ikon. 
Then  he  found  himself  saying  something  confusedly 
about  "  forty  miles  an  hour,"  and  "  eight  months  and 
a  half." 

"Just  so,"  the  Professor  answered. 

"  Forty  miles  an  hour — forty  miles — forty  miles," 
muttered  Ikon,  as  if  learning  a  lesson. 

"  Exactly  so,"  said  the  Professor. 

" Eight  months  and  a  half!     Eight  months  and  a 


156  Among  the  Stars. 

half  1 "    Ikon  said  the  words  over  and  over,  without 
power  to  stop. 

"  Precisely  so,"  said  the  Professor. 

Ikon  was  troubled  with  an  indistinct  feeling  that 
food  would  be  wanted  on  the  way.  He  tried  to  ex- 
plain to  Herr  Lehrer,  and  could  not  speak.  Then 
he  wandered  about,  hunting  vaguely  for  something 
in  the  shape  of  provisions.  Cupboards  and  side-, 
boards  seemed  to  be  all  around  him.  He  pulled  out 
drawer  after  drawer,  saying  to  himself: 

"  Buns  and  sponge-cakes." 

"Ah,  yes,"  Herr  Lehrer  said.  "Come;  shall  we 
be  off?" 

The  room  was  growing  misty,  and  Ikon  had  a 
nightmare  sense  of  trying  to  get  something  done 
which  lay  out  of  his  power.  Then  the  cupboards 
and  sideboards,  the  walls  and  floor,  faded  quietly 
away;  and  Ikon  forgot  all  about  buns,  sponge-cakes, 
and  the  eight  months'  journey.  Herr  Lehrer  spread 
his  wings,  and  Ikon  did  the  same.  The  two  rose 
swiftly  and  easily  upward.  To  Ikon's  surprise,  he 
found  flying  to  be  no  trouble  at  all. 

How  happy  he  was  !  To  be  at  last  really  going  to 
the  moon  !  In  his  dream  Ikon  remembered  quite 
clearly  how  often  he  had  fancied  himself  taking  this 
journey.  But  such  fancies  had  been  only  fancies. 


A  Dream  without  an  Ending.  157 

He  laughed  softly  to  himself  with  the  thought  that 
now  all  this  was  real. 

It  was  a  clear  evening,  and  the  stars  overhead 
shone  brightly,  except  where  their  radiance  was 
dimmed  by  the  brighter  light  of  the  half-moon. 

As  Ikon  and  his  friend  shot  up,  with  arrow-like 
flight,  the  earth  seemed  to  drop  away  beneath  them, 
and  the  rows  of  lamps  in  a  neighbouring  town 
shrank  together,  fading  into  rows  of  bead-like  specks, 
then  into  mere  blurred  lines. 

Ikon  had  read  lately  a  very  good  description  of 
how  things  looked  to  a  man  going  up  at  night  in  a 
balloon.  It  was  quite  curious  how  clearly  that  which 
he  had  read  and  pondered  over  was  now  pictured  in 
his  dream. 

As  lamps  and  houses  faded  and  shrank,  the  sky 
overhead  seemed  to  grow  each  moment  deeper  and 
broader.  Few  clouds  floated  in  cloudland  this  even- 
ing; and  no  haziness  shut  off  the  faint  glimmer  of 
human  cities  below,  or  the  shining  of  suns  and 
worlds  above. 

"  What  makes  the  stars  so  bright  ? "  asked  Ikon. 
But  his  companion  gave  no  answer. 

Then  Ikon's  wings  seemed  to  be  failing  him,  and 
he  could  no  longer  rise  with  ease.  Herr  Lehrer  was 
leaving  him  behind,  and  Ikon  cried  in  distress: 


158  Among  the  Stars. 

"  Oh,  stop,  stop — don't  go  away  ! " 

So  the  Professor  came  back,  and  grasp'ed  his  hand, 
and  said: 

"  Cheer  up,  child — don't  tire  so  soon.  We  are  not 
far  now  from  the  moon." 

And  all  at  once  a  bright  silvery  dazzle  of  light 
enfolded  them  on  every  side.  Ikon  saw  above  an 
enormous  moon,  filling  up  a  great  space  in  the  sky. 
Each  instant  as  they  drew  nearer,  the  great  round 
moon  grew  yet  more  enormous.  He  caught  sight  too 
of  the  well-known  markings — the  man  with  his 
bundle  of  sticks — grown  unnaturally  big. 

"  We  are  almost  there !  we  are  almost  there  ! "  cried 
the  child,  clapping  his  hands  in  glee. 

Then  suddenly  other  sounds  stole  into  his  ears. 
The  Professor  faded  away;  the  splendid  huge  moon 
vanished;  the  dazzling  light  was  gone.  Ikon  found 
himself  lying  again  on  the  sofa,  a  wingless  little 
boy  under  a  warm  shawl.  And  Dormer  stood  by 
his  side. 

"  Come,  Master  Ikon,"  she  said.  "  You  are  having 
a  comfortable  sleep;  but  I  mustn't  leave  you  here 
any  longer,  or  y©u  won't  get  a  wink  to-night." 

Dormer  was  very  much  astonished  to  be  answered 
by  a  burst  of  tears. 


A  Dream  without  an  Ending.  159 

"  Why,  Master  Ikon  !  Now,  Master  Ikon  !  "  she 
said,  with  mingled  pity  and  reproach. 

"  O  Dormer,  why  didyo\a  wake  me  ? "  sobbed  Ikon. 
"  I  was  having  such  a  lovely  beautiful  dream." 

"Well,  dear,  I'll  get  you  quick  into  bed,  and  you 
can  go  on  with  your  dream,"  said  Dormer. 

"  But  I  never  do  go  on  with  dreams.  Of  course  I 
don't,"  said  Ikon  fretfully.  "And  Herr  Lehrer  was 
here,  and  we  both  had  got  wings.  And  we  were 
flying  away  to  the  moon,  and  we  had  almost/#.y/  got 
there.  And  I  wanted  to  see  everything  so  much. 
And  you  woke  me  up,  and  spoilt  it  all." 

Dormer  had  much  ado  to  keep  from  laughing  at 
the  notion  of  wings.  She  managed,  however,  to 
look  pretty  grave,  and  persuaded  Ikon  to  tell  her  all 
about  his  dream,  in  hopes  that  his  mind  would  be 
relieved. 

"  That's  the  queerest  child  I  ever  did  see  in  all  my 
life,"  she  said  to  herself,  when  Ikon  was  safely  tucked 
up  in  his  bed  for  the  night. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

UNFOLDED     WINGS. 

IKON  did  not  "go  on"  with  his  dream.  Wish  as 
he  might,  the  Professor  with  wings  came  to  him 
no  more. 

Somebody  else  came,  however,  quite  unex- 
pectedly. 

One  day,  nearly  a  week  later,  when  Ikon  was 
lying  back  in  an  easy-chair,  too  tired  even  for  play, 
Dormer  entered,  saying: 

"  Here's  a  visitor,  Master  Ikon." 

Ikon  lifted  his  eyes  eagerly.  Could  it  be  Herr 
Lehrer  ?  He  saw  his  father  always  twice  a  day; 
but  not  at  this  hour:  and  Ikon  had  no  other 
callers. 

No,  it  was  not  the  Professor.  A  young  man 
followed  Dormer  into  the  room,  small  and  pale 
and  sickly-looking,  with  a  shy  and  awkward 
manner.  Ikon  knew  him  again  in  a  moment.  It 


Unfolded  Wings.  161 


was  the  Professor's  friend;  the  owner  of  the  big 
telescope. 

"  Mr.  Fritz  !  "  he  cried,  with  a  bright  smile. 

Fritz  reached  the  couch,  and  said, — 

"  How  do  you  do  ?  " — seeming  terribly  bashful  and 
ashamed  of  himself. 

"Are  you  really  come  to  see  me? "asked  Ikon 
wonderingly. 

"  Herr  Lehrer  asked  me,"  said  Fritz. 

"  I'm  so  glad.     It  is  so  kind,"  said  Ikon. 

Then  there  was  silence.  Dormer^  placed  a  chair, 
and  Fritz  sat  down.  He  stared  at  Ikon,  and 
seemed  at  a  loss  what  to  do  next. 

"  I'm  so  glad  you  have  come,"  repeated  Ikon, 
feeling  less  shy  than  usual,  just  because  he  saw  Mr. 
Fritz  to  be  more  shy  than  himself.  "  I  have  been 
wanting  and  wanting  somebody  dreadfully, — I  mean, 
somebody  who  knows  all  about  the  stars." 

"  Nobody  does,"  said  Fritz. 

"  O  yes,"  cried  Ikon.     "  Herr  Lehrer  does." 

"  No,  he  doesn't.  He  knows  some  things.  No- 
body knows  everything  about  them." 

"O  no,  of  course  not.  I  didn't  mean  that,  of 
course,"  said  Ikon.  "  But  he  knows  a  great  great 
deal.  And  so  do  you,  because  you  have  a  tele- 
scope." 


1 62  Among  the  Stars. 

11  That  does  not  follow  at  all,"  said  Fritz. 

"Won't  you  talk  to  me  about  the  stars — just  as 
Herr  Lehrer  does  ? "  asked  Ikon. 

"But  you  ain't  to  tire  yourself,  Master  Ikon,"  said 
Dormer. 

And  with  that  she  went  away,  leaving  the  two 
alone  together.  Fritz  seemed  relieved  at  her  de- 
parture. 

"  Herr  Lehrer  told  me  you  had  been  ill,"  he  said. 
"  In  fact,  he  desired  me  to  call,  and  see  how  you 
were,  and  tell  you  stories." 

"  I  don't  want  stories,"  said  Ikon  sadly.  "  Dormer 
reads  me  lots.  I'd  a  great  deal  rather  know  more 
about  the  stars." 

"No  doubt,"  said  Fritz. 

Then  another  pause  took  place. 

"  I  had  such  a  funny  dream  the  other  day,"  Ikon 
said  softly  at  length. 

"  Yes,  I  know  you  had — about  the  moon,"  said 
Fritz. 

"Why,  how  could  you  know?"  asked  Ikon;  and 
unfortunate  Fritz  grew  very  red,  as  if  he  knew  him- 
self to  have  made  a  mistake. 

The  truth  was,  Dormer  had  told  Ikon's  father 
about  the  child's  dream;  and  Ikon's  father  had 
been  so  much  amused  as  to  mention  it  in  a  letter  to 


Unfolded  Wings.  165 


the  Professor,  and  the  Professor  had  passed  on  a 
few  words  about  the  dream  to  Fritz.  But  of  course 
nobody  meant  Ikon  to  know  all  this. 

"Oh,  it  doesn't  matter,"  said  Fritz.  "People  often 
dream.  I  dream  myself,  sometimes." 

Ikon  could  not  exactly  see  Fritz's  answer  to  be  an 
explanation;  but  he  only  asked, — 

"  Do  you  ever  dream  about  the  moon  ?  " 

"  I  am  not  sure  that  I  ever  did,"  said  Fritz.  "  So 
you  may  as  well  tell  me  your  dream." 

Ikon  liked  that.  He  launched  out  eagerly,  and 
gave  full  particulars,  warming  and  flushing  with  his 
tale.  Fritz  listened  with  an  odd  solemn  face  of 
attention,  now  and  then  breaking  into  a  short 
laugh. 

"  It  was  so  dreadfully  disappointing  to  stop  there," 
Ikon  said,  at  the  end.  "If  only  Dormer  hadn't  woke 
me  up ! " 

"  She  could  not  guess  what  you  were  dreaming," 
said  Fritz.  "And  you  have  never  dreamt  a  con- 
clusion ? " 

"O  no;  I  wish  I  could.  I  never  do  go  on  an- 
other time  with  a  dream,"  said  Ikon.  "  Do  you  ?'* 

"Sometimes,"  said  Fritz. 

"  I  wish  I  could.  But  I  can't  make  myself,"  sighed 
Ikon. 


164  Among  the  Stars. 


"  Perhaps  you  had  better  not  try,"  said  Fritz. 
"  Perhaps  I  might  manage  to  carry  on  your  dream 
for  you." 

"  Will  you  ?  Oh,  will  you  ? "  cried  Ikon.  "  Can 
you  make  yourself  dream  the  rest  of  it,  and  then  tell 
it  all  to  me  ? " 

"  Well,  not  exactly  that,"  said  Fritz.  "  But  Herr 
Lehrer  has  desired  me  to  tell  you  a  story,  and  I 
always  do  what  Herr  Lehrer  wishes." 

"  Because  he  is  so  good  ? "  asked  Ikon. 

"  Yes;  I  dare  say  that  is  the  reason — partly." 

"And  you  w*7/tell  me  a  story?"  asked  Ikon,  rather 
soberly. 

"  I  must — because  Herr  Lehrer  says  so.  But  sup- 
pose it  is  a  story  of  a  little  boy's  journey  to  the 
moon,  in  a  dream  ? " 

"Oh,  that  will  be  splendid,"  said  Ikon,  with 
sparkling  eyes.  "And  you'll  make  him  see  everything 
that  a  real  little  boy  would  see,  if  he  really  went  to 
the  moon." 

"  So  far  as  I  know  what  a  real  little  boy  would 
see,"  said  Fritz;  "and  of  course  supposing  such  a 
little  boy  could  stay  long  enough  in  the  moon  to 
see  anything  at  all." 

"Couldn't  a  little  boy  stay  if  he  got  there?"  asked 
Ikon. 


Unfolded  Wings.  165 


"  Why,  no — not  very  well,"  said  Fritz.  "There  is 
no  air  in  the  moon — at  least,  not  enough  to  be 
worth  mentioning.  And  people  can't  possibly  live 
without  breathing." 

"  I  suppose  I  forgot  that  in  my  dream,"  said  Ikon. 
"  I  ought  to  have  choked,  oughtn't  I  ? " 

Fritz  gave  one  of  his  little  short  laughs. 

"No,  that  was  not  necessary.  You  went  with 
Wings  of  Imagination.  People  can  go  anywhere  on 
Wings  of  Imagination — if  their  wings  are  strong 
enough  to  carry  them." 

"  I  think  it  was  very  conceited  of  me  to  dream 
about  my  wings  being  so  strong,"  said  Ikon,  blushing. 

"  Perhaps  you  had  had  the  thought  in  your  mind 
before,"  suggested  Fritz,  and  Ikon  blushed  still 
more.  "  But  your  notion  about  stumps  was  not 
bad." 

"There's  a  boy  in  a  cottage  who  has  only  got 
stumps  instead  of  arms,"  said  Ikon. 

"  No  doubt  that  put  the  idea  into  your  head,"  said 
Fritz. 

"But  of  course  he  hasn't  got  wing-stumps," 
pursued  Ikon.  "Won't  you  please  tell  me  the  story 
now — this  minute  ? " 

"  I— I— no,  I  think  not,"  said  Fritz  slowly.  "  The 
fact  is,  I  am  not  a  good  hand  at  extemporizing." 


1 66  Among  the  Stars. 

11  Ex — temper — what  ? "  asked  Ikon. 

44  Making  up  a  tale  at  the  moment,"  explained 
Fritz.  "  I  think  I  will  write  it  out,  and  then  come 
and  read  it  to  you." 

"  To-morrow  ? "  asked  Ikon. 

44  Not  to-morrow,  but  very  soon." 

"But  are  you  sure  you  aren't  too  busy?"  asked 
Ikon. 

44  Quite  sure,"  Fritz  said. 

44  And  will  the  little  boy  in  the  story  be  me  ?  " 

"Perhaps  not,"  said  Fritz  thoughtfully.  "We  will 
leave  that  uncertain.  I  shall  call  him  Eikon." 

<4  My  name  is  Ikon,  not  Ikone"  said  the  child. 

44  Ikon  is  derived — that  is  to  say,  it  has  grown — 
from  a  Greek  word,  Eikon." 

"  I  wonder  what  Eikon  means  ? " 

44  It  means  an  image — or  a  similitude.  Something 
that  is  like  something  else." 

44 1  wish  my  name  was  Eikon." 

44  Better  not  wish  that,"  said  Fritz.  "  I  want  the 
word  for  my  story." 

41  And  will  there  be  a  Herr  Lehrer  with  wings?" 

"  I  rather  think — on  the  whole — not,"  said  Fritz 
slowly.  "I  think  it  would  be  more  respectful, 
perhaps,  not  to  give  the  Professor  wings." 

44 1  couldn't  help  doing  it  in  my  dream,"  said  Ikon. 


Unfolded  Wings.  167 


rather  ashamed.  "  I  didn't .  mean  to  be  rude  to 
him." 

"  Of  course  not.  But  to  give  him  wings  in  my 
story  would  be  another  matter.  I  propose  to  have 
a  little  girl  with  wings,  instead  of  a  Professor." 

"  A  fancy  little  girl  ?"  asked  Ikon. 

"  No — a  real  little  girl.  Her  name  is  Stella.  She 
is  a  very  nice  little  girl  indeed.  Perhaps  some  day 
you  will  see  her.  '  Stella '  means  '  a  star,'  and 
she  is  fond  of  hearing  about  the  stars." 

"  Why,  she  must  be  like  me  !  "  cried  Ikon. 

"  Not  like  you  in  face,"  said  Fritz. 

"And  shall  I — I  mean,  will  the  boy,  EikOn,  go 
with  Stella  to  the  moon  ? " 

"  Probably  he  will,"  replied  Fritz. 

Then  Mr.  Fritz  stood  up  to  say  good-bye. 

"  I  will  bring  something  soon  to  read  to  you,"  he 
said.  And  three  days  later  he  kept  his  word 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

MR.  FRITZ'S  STORY. 

"  IT  is  called  '  Eikon's  Visit  to  the  Moon," "  said 
Fritz,  in  a  shy  voice,  as  he  unrolled  some  papers, 
written  over-closely  in  a  small  and  not  very  distinct 
handwriting.  "  You  are  to  shut  your  eyes  while  I 
read,  and  to  imagine  that  you  see  exactly  what  Eikon 
saw.  In  fact,  for  the  time  you  are  to  believe  yourself 
Eikon,  not  Ikon.  And  you  must  not  interrupt  me." 

"  Mayn't  I  ask  questions  ?" 

"  Not  by  the  way.  When  I  have  done,  you  may  if 
you  like." 

Fritz  paused  a  moment,  and  looked  at  Ikon. 

"  I  think  you  kept  up  your  own  character  pretty 
well  in  that  dream,"  he  said. 

"  My  character,"  said  Ikon,  in  a  puzzled  voice. 

"  Yes.  You  like  to  talk,  don't  you  ? — and  to  ask  a 
great  many  questions." 

"  O  yes,"  Ikon  said,  rather  bashfully.  "  At  least,  I 
like  to  talk  to  some  people." 


Mr.  Fritz  s  Story.  169 

"  To  Herr  Lehrer  ? " 

"  Yes — and  to  Dormer — and  to  you,  Mr.  Fritz." 

"  You  kept  that  up  in  your  dream,"  repeated  Fritz. 

Then  he  went  back  to  his  papers.  They  were 
rather  in  confusion,  and  had  to  be  arranged. 

"  Will  the  real  little  girl,  Stella,  read  your  story  ?" 
asked  Ikon. 

"  I  am  not  sure.  Perhaps — some  day.  Now  shut 
your  eyes,  and  listen." 

Ikon  obeyed;  but  very  soon  he  forgot,  and  his  eyes 
were  opened  widely.  Fritz  began  to  read  in  a  par- 
ticularly shy  voice,  stopping  often  to  clear  his  throat. 
Soon,  however,  he  too  forgot  to  be  shy;  and  thence- 
forward the  story  went  easily  and  well. 


EIKOWS  VISIT  TO  THE  MOON. 

PART  I. 

"  THE  child,  Eikon,  stood  gazing  into  the  midnight 
sky,  a  sky  richly  sprinkled  with  stars.  Who  would 
have  thought,  to  look  at  those  mere  points  of  light, 
that  each  one  was  a  sun  or  a  world  in  itself  ? 

"To  the  east  the  moon  had  lately  risen;  a  silver 
crescent,  sending  soft  light  upon  earth. 

'"If  I  could  but  visit  the  stars! '  sighed  the  child, 
as  he  had  often  sighed  before. 

22 


170  Among'  the  Stars. 

"  He  stood  watching  long  with  upraised  eyes,  till 
weariness  overpowered  him.  Then  he  sat  down, 
leaning  his  head  against  a  grassy  bank,  and  gazing 
skyward  still.  But  presently  his  eyes  closed,  and  he 
sank  into  heavy  sleep." 

"  Was  he  out  of  doors  ?  Wouldn't  he  catch  cold  ?  " 
asked  Ikon. 

"You  must  ask  no  questions,"  responded  Fritz.  "  I 
have  written  down  all  I  have  to  say." 

"  It  seemed  to  Eikon  that  he  had  not  forgotten 
himself  more  than  three  seconds,  before  a  clear 
flute-like  voice  said: 

"  '  Eikon  ! ' 

"  Eikon  sprang  to  his  feet.  To  his  surprise  a  blue- 
eyed  girl  stood  beside  him — " 

"  Oh,  has  Stella  got  blue  eyes  ? "  cried  Ikon. 

"  A  blue-eyed  girl  stood  beside  him;  not  much 
taller  than  himself,  and  dressed  in  white.  She  was 
fair  and  gentle-looking,  with  long  hair  in  curls.  Two 
gauzy  silvery  wings  of  strange  texture  were  folded 
together  behind  her  shoulders." 

"  What's  '  texture '  ? "  asked  Ikon.  "  I  should  like 
to  know  that  little  girl.  Only  of  course  the  real 
Stella  wouldn't  have  wings." 


Mr.  Fritz's  Story.  171 

Fritz  put  down  his  paper  with  a  grave  face. 

"  Ikon,  if  you  go  on  interrupting  me,  I  shall  read 
no  more." 

"  I  won't — please  do  read — I  won't  interrupt  again!" 
cried  Ikon,  in  a  great  fright;  and  Fritz  went  on: 

"'Are  your  wings  strong  to-night?'  asked  the 
little  girl. 

"  Eikon  felt  no  surprise  at  seeing  the  little  girl 
with  wings;  but  it  did  surprise  him  to  hear  of  his 
own  wings.  He  peeped  over  one  shoulder,  and  there 
undoubtedly  they  were;  soft  gauzy  wings,  all  ready 
for  use. 

"  '  Will  you  go  with  me  yonder  ? '  asked  the  child, 
lifting  her  hands  towards  the  starry  sky. 

"'To  the  stars!  O  yes!  Which  shall  it  be?' 
asked  Eikon  earnestly.  '  Sirius  ?  The  Pleiades  ? ' 

"  '  I  think  we  will  try  an  easier  flight  first.  Your 
wings  are  not  practised,'  she  said.  'The  Pleiades 
and  Sirius  are  so  very  very  far  away.  Our  near 
neighbours,  moon  and  sun,  should  have  our  first 
attention.' 

"  '  Oh,  certainly — the  moon  and  the  sun — I  quite 
forgot  our  own  sun  and  moon,'  said  Eikon.  '  And  I 
have  so  often  longed  to  visit  the  moon.  What  a  beau- 
tiful place  we  shall  find  !  How  soon  shall  we  start  ? 


172  Among  the  Stars. 

"  '  Now.    There  is  no  need  for  delay  ! ' 
" '  But  shall  we  not  need  food  with  us  ? ' 
" '  Food !     O    no,'    the    child    answered.      '  The 
want  of  food  is  not  felt  by  those  who  soar  on  the 
Wings  of  Imagination.     We  shall  travel  rapidly — far 
more  rapidly  than  the  fastest  express  train.' " 

"  She  talks  most  dreadfully  like  a  grown-up  per- 
son," whispered  Ikon  very  softly  to  himself.  Fritz 
paid  no  attention  to  the  remark,  but  possibly  he 
took  a  hint  from  it  for  the  future. 

" '  Is  this  your  first  visit  to  the  moon  ? '  asked  Eikon. 

"  'No,'  she  answered.  'I  have  been  many  times. 
But  it  will  be  your  first  trip.  Come  !  ' 

"  '  Will  you  not  tell  me  your  name  ? ' 

"  '  My  name  is  Stella;  and  yours  I  know  is  Eikon. 
So  now  we  are  friends.  Come  ! '  she  repeated. 

"  The  two  young  creatures  spread  their  wings,  and 
sprang  joyously  aloft. 

"  How  delicious  it  is  to  float  upward  away  from 
earth,  borne  upon  the  powerful  Wings  of  Imagina- 
tion !  Those  who  possess  only  the  stumps  of  these 
wings,  or  who  have  rendered  them  useless  through 
want  of  practice,  can  crawl  but  heavily  along  the 
roads  of  learning. 

"  Side  by  side  Stella  and  Eikon  rose  through  the 


A    FLIGHT    TO   THE    MOON. 


STARS. 


p.   172. 


Mr.  Fritz's  Story.  173 

darkness  towards  the  glittering  sky.  Beneath,  all 
seemed  to  shrink  and  dwindle  and  fade.  Above, 
all  seemed  to  stretch  and  widen  and  glow. 

"  '  What  makes  the  stars  so  strangely  brilliant  ? ' 
Eikon  asked  in  subdued  tones.  '  I  never  saw  them 
shine  like  this  before.' 

"  '  You  have  never  been  so  high,  perhaps,'  Stella 
answered. 

"  '  Is  it  because  we  are  much  nearer  to  them  ? ' 
inquired  Eikon. 

"  '  No,  that  is  not  the  reason.  The  fixed  stars  are 
so  enormously  far  away,  that  this  slight  difference 
counts  for  nothing.  They  shine  more  brightly  to 
our  eyes,  because  of  the  thinness  of  the  atmosphere. 
There  is  so  little  air  up  here,  that  if  we  had  come  as 
men  commonly  journey  we  could  not  breathe.  But 
these  wings  will  bear  us  safely  where  by  any  other 
mode  of  travelling  we  should  die.' 

" '  I  have  not  noticed  any  difference  in  the  air,' 
said  Eikon,  in  surprise.  '  Will  it  grow  thinner  still 
as  we  ascend  ? ' 

"  'Yes;  rapidly,'  replied  Stella.  'At  a  height  of 
fifty  or  a  hundred  miles  there  is  practically  no  air. 
But  do  not  be  anxious.  You  will  not  suffer.' 

"  '  I  suppose  we  are  now  at  a  great  height,'  said 
Eikon. 


1/4  Among  the  Stars. 

"  '  Far  above  the  topmost  peak  of  earth's  loftiest 
mountain,'  Stella  answered. 

"As  the  two  rose,  they  soon  left  darkness  behind, 
and  emerged  into  dazzling  light.  Eikon  was  de- 
lighted with  the  change.  Stella  bade  him  look  back, 
and  mark  the  dark  shadow  out  of  which  they  had 
come. 

"'See,'  she  said,  'we  have  left  behind  us,  not 
only  earth,  but  also  earth's  shade.  Just  as  every 
tree  casts  its  shadow  on  the  ground,  so  every 
planet  casts  its  shadow  into  space.  That  is  the 
meaning  of  night.  Earth  throws  a  perpetual 
shadow,  always  in  the  direction  away  from  the 
sun;  and  in  that  shadow  is  man's  night.  Now 
we  are  travelling  through  space;  and  in  these 
vast  reaches  of  space  around  our  sun,  there  is 
never  any  night,  except  just  where  a  rushing 
planet  casts  its  shadow.  We  are  now  in  a  region 
of  perpetual  day.' 

"'I  do  not  quite  understand  what  you  mean  by 
"  space,"  '  said  Eikon. 

"'The  sun  and  moon,  the  planets  and  stars,  are 
all  set  or  placed  in  space,'  replied  Stella.  '  At  your 
home,  the  tables,  chairs,  and  stools  are  all  set  or 
placed  in  a  room.  Only,  the  pieces  of  furniture  are 
at  rest;  whereas  the  stars  and  planets  are  always 


Mr.  Fritz's  Story.  175 

moving.  Besides,  there  are  no  walls,  or  floor,  or 
ceiling  to  space.' 

"  '  How  far  does  space  reach  ? '  asked  Eikon. 
'  And  what  lies  beyond  space  ? ' 

'"I  do  not  know,'  the  child  answered,  with  a 
serious  look  in  her  blue  eyes.  'HE  who  created 
space  alone  knows  how  far  space  reaches.  And  if 
space  has  bounds — if  there  is  any  beyond  to  space — 
we  only  know,  Eikon,  that  God  is  there.' 

"  This  seemed  to  Eikon  a  wonderful  and  beautiful 
thought. 

"  '  How  gloriously  the  sun  shines,'  he  said,  falling 
into  Stella's  gentle  and  reverent  tone.  '  What  a 
blaze  of  light  !  And  how  black  the  sky  has 
grown.' 

"  '  The  air  has  become  so  thin,'  she  said.  '  With- 
out air  there  cannot  be  a  blue  sky  ! ' 

" '  And  are  we  really  in  space  now  ? '  asked 
Eikon. 

"  '  You  have  been  in  space  all  your  life,  Eikon,  for 
the  world  itself  is  in  space.  But  we  are  passing  now 
into  regions  of  space  away  from  earth.' 

'"Oh,  what  is  that?'  cried  Eikon,  as  a  small 
dark  body  rushed  past  them  earthward,  with  light- 
ning speed,  flashed  into  a  blaze  of  flame,  and 
vanished. 


176  Among  the  Stars. 

11 '  Only  a  shooting-star,'  Stella  answered.  '  Have 
you  never  watched  for  shooting-stars  at  night  ? ' " 

"  O  yes,"  whispered  Ikon  eagerly.  "  I  didn't  know 
they  were  that  sort  of  thing  though." 

"  '  Yes,'  Eikon  replied.  '  I  imagined,  however, 
that  the  shooting-stars  were  suns,  like  other  stars; 
not  little  bodies  like  this  ? ' 

"  'The  real  stars  are  suns:  but  a  shooting-star  is 
not  a  real  star.  It  is  only  a  meteorite,'  said  Stella. 
'  We  may  expect  to  meet  many  of  them  on  our  way 
to  the  moon.' 

"  '  I  hope  they  will  not  strike  us,'  said  Eikon,  with 
a  shudder. 

"  '  No  fear,'  Stella  said,  smiling.  '  We  are  here 
on  Wings  of  Imagination,  remember.  But  for  that, 
there  would  indeed  be  danger.' 

"  '  Will  not  that  shooting-star  fall  down  on  earth 
and  kill  somebody  ? '  asked  the  boy. 

"  '  O  no;  it  will  probably  have  burnt  out  long  be- 
fore it  reaches  the  ground.  A  little  dust  may  fall, 
and  that  is  all.  Now,  Eikon,  shut  your  eyes,  and 
take  my  hand.  Come  where  I  lead,  and  do  not 
open  your  eyes  again  until  I  give  you  leave.' 

"  Eikon  obeyed,  though  not  willingly.  He  was 
conscious  of  swift  and  steady  motion,  his  own  weaker 


Mr.  Fritz's  Story.  177 

wings  being  helped  on  by  Stella's  more  practised 
pinions.     Once  he  said, — 

"  '  We  are  going  so  fast;  and  yet  I  feel  no  wind.' 

" '  There  cannot  be  wind  where  there  is  no  air, 
said  Stella.     'Wind  is  moving  air.' 

"  '  Then  is  there  nothing  here  ? '  asked  Eikon, 
almost  opening  his  eyes  in  surprise  at  the  thought. 

"  '  Nothing  that  we  can  see  or  feel.  But  there  is 
believed  to  be  a  something  everywhere  through  space, 
very  much  lighter  and  thinner  than  the  thinnest  air 
which  we  can  possibly  imagine.  This  something  we 
call  "ether."' 

"Then  the  two  swept  onward  in  silence;  and 
suddenly  Eikon  found  himself  standing  upon  his 
feet. 

"  '  Open  your  eyes,'  said  Stella  softly. 

PART  II. 

"  '  Why,  we  are  back  on  earth  again  ! '  exclaimed 
Eikon,  in  disappointment. 

"  Stella  smiled  and  said, — 

"  '  Are  we  ?     Look  around.' 

" '  It's  only  earth,'  repeated  the  boy. 

"  If  so,  it  was  a  strange  earth.  Eikon  rubbed  his 
eyes,  and  gazed  about,  with  a  sense  of  bewilderment. 

"  In  front,  far  away,  extended  a  bare  and  barren 


178  Among  the  Stars. 

plain,  upon  which  the  sun's  rays  poured  down  with 
a  dazzling  and  sweltering  heat.  The  glare  was  so 
intense  that  Eikon  could  not  face  it. 

"  He  turned  to  the  right,  and  saw  a  range  of 
mountains,  jagged  and  rocky,  casting  shadows  of 
inky  blackness.  No  rivulets  poured  down  these 
mountain  sides;  no  grass  or  plants  or  trees  were 
anywhere  to  be  seen. 

"  To  his  left,  rose  an  enormous  rocky  parapet,  ex- 
tending for  miles,  but  gradually  curving  away  as  if 
around  some  unseen  centre.  Here,  too,  were  the 
harsh  and  rugged  outlines;  the  utter  want  of  soft- 
ness; the  fierce  glare  of  sunlight;  the  deep  black- 
ness of  shadow. 

"  The  plain  in  front  was  dotted  at  greater  and 
smaller  intervals  with  sharply-cut  circular  hollows, 
some  small,  some  large,  usually  surrounded  by  ridges 
of  hard  rock. 

"  Stella  waited  patiently,  while  Eikon's  eyes  wan- 
dered around. 

"  '  Look  up,'  she  said  softly  at  length. 

"  Eikon  obeyed.  He  beheld  a  sky  of  midnight 
blackness,  bespangled  with  brilliant  untwinkling 
stars.  Strange  to  say,  the  stars  shone  thus  although 
it  was  full  day,  and  the  sun  beat  down  in  unutterable 
splendour. 


Mr.  Fritz's  Story.  179 

"  The  sun  !  Was  that  indeed  the  very  same  sun, 
which  Eikon  was  used  to  see  from  his  earth-home  ? 
A  crown  of  golden  and  many-coloured  light  en- 
circled the  dazzling  orb;  and  a  glorious  fringe  of 
radiance,  ever  changing  in  hue  and  quivering  with 
motion,  streamed  outward  far  into  space  on  all 
sides. 

"  '  Is  that  our  sun  ? '  asked  Eikon  in  amaze. 

"  '  That  is  our  sun,  Eikon,  only  seen  without  the 
veil  of  air  to  soften  his  glory,'  replied  Stella.  '  See 
yonder.' 

"  Eikon  again  looked,  and  his  eyes  fell  upon  a 
splendid  sight  in  the  heavens — a  shining  body,  not 
so  very  unlike  the  moon  he  had  often  watched 
from  earth,  when  at  her  third  quarter,  but  about 
sixteen  times  as  large,  exceedingly  radiant,  and 
bordered  all  round  the  outer  edge  by  a  hazy  band. 
On  this  beautiful  moon-like  orb  were  many  curious 
markings,  which  reminded  Eikon  of  his  large 
school-map  of  the  world,  hanging  on  the  wall  at 
home. 

"  '  And  that  is — '  he  said  wonderingly. 

"  '  That  is  THE  EARTH,'  Stella  said. 

"  *  How  magnificent !  I  never  knew  we  had  such 
a  perfectly  radiant  world  to  live  in,'  the  boy  said, 
deeply  stirred  at  the  sight. 


l8o  Among  the  Stars. 

" '  We  may  dwell  in  the  very  midst  of  God's 
glorious  things,  and  yet  not  see  them,'  Stella  said 
gently. 

"  '  And  this — this  really  is  the  moon  ? '  said  Eikon, 
as  if  hardly  able  to  believe  it. 

" '  This  is  the  moon.  Have  you  any  doubt  ? 
Yonder  is  our  earth  which  we  have  left.  No  other 
world  lies  so  near.' 

"'And  we  have  come  all  this  great  distance!' 
mused  Eikon. 

"  '  About  two  hundred  and  forty  thousand  miles,' 
said  Stella,  smiling.  '  A  mere  nothing  in  astronomy.' 

"  '  Shall  we  ever  get  back  ? ' 

"  '  Have  no  fear,'  Stella  answered  cheerfully. 
'  But  you  have  more  to  see  here,  before  we  return. 
Look  again  at  the  sun.  Is  he  not  a  dazzling  object  ? ' 

"  '  Why  do  we  not  see  from  earth  that  crown  of 
gorgeous  light  ? '  asked  Eikon. 

"  '  On  earth  we  look  through  a  thick  atmosphere, 
and  all  those  delicate  tints  and  lines  of  light  are  lost. 
Not  that  they  can  never  be  seen  from  earth — but  it 
is  only  possible  under  certain  conditions.  You  may 
see  earth's  atmosphere  now — the  hazy  band  which 
is  folded  around  her.  See,  too,  you  can  almost  make 
out  the  different  continents  on  her  surface.  The 
part  which  lies  in  darkness  includes  your  home, 


Mr.  Fritz's  Story.  iSl 

Eikon;  for  you  know  that,  when  we  left,  night  had 
begun.' 

"  '  We  have  been  so  long  in  coming,  that  it  must 
be  at  least  next  day  at  home,'  said  Eikon. 

"  '  Not  so  long  as  you  would  suppose.  How  do 
you  like  this  heat  ? ' 

"  '  It  is  fearful/  Eikon  answered.  '  I  wonder  at 
myself  for  being  able  to  stay  here.' 

" '  Wings  of  Imagination,'  Stella  said  softly.  '  Had 
you  come  in  any  other  way,  you  could  not  stand  the 
heat  for  three  seconds.  If  I  could  conjure  into  ex- 
istence a  pond  of  water  on  this  spot,  it  would  boil 
away  almost  instantly  into  steam.' 

" '  Do  you  not  think  we  might  find  some  water 
in  one  of  those  round  holes  ? '  asked  Eikon. 

"  '  In  the  craters  ?     See  for  yourself.' 

"  '  Are  these  volcanic  craters  ? '  inquired  Eikon. 
'I  have  seen  pictures  of  volcanoes  at  home;  but 
they  were  quite  different.' 

"  '  Earth's  volcanoes  are  often  active  still.  The 
moon's  volcanoes  are  dead.  That  makes  a  great 
difference,'  said  Stella.  'Yes,  it  is  believed  that 
these  are  volcanic  craters — the  larger  ones  at  all 
events.  Yonder  wall  of  rock  surrounds  a  great 
crater,  about  a  hundred  miles  or  more  across.  But 
no  fire  or  smoke  or  lava  is  ever  seen  to  come 


1 82  Among  the  Stars. 

from  them.  Everything  upon  the  moon  seems 
dead.' 

"  Eikon  exclaimed, — '  Oh  ! ' — as  a  round  hard 
body  came  rushing  downward  out  of  the  sky,  and 
struck  the  ground  close  to  where  they  stood,  with 
a  seemingly  tremendous  blow.  The  very  ground 
shook  beneath  it;  yet  there  was  no  sound.  Eikon 
stared. 

"  '  I  did  not  hear  it,'  he  said. 

"  '  There  are  no  noises  in  the  moon,  Eikon,  for 
there  is  no  air  to  carry  sound,'  replied  Stella.  '  If 
you  and  I  were  here  in  any  other  way  except  on 
Wings  of  Imagination,  we  could  not  hear  each  other 
speak.  That  was  only  another  meteorite.' 

"  '  A  shooting-star.  But  it  did  not  blaze  into 
flame  and  burn  away,  as  it  came,'  said  Eikon. 

"'No;  there  is  nothing  to  make  it  do  so. 
Meteorites  that  fall  to  earth,  catch  fire  in  their  rush 
through  our  atmosphere.  But  here  there  is  no  air. 
If  you  watch,  you  will  see  many  such  meteorites 
fall  while  we  are  here.' 

"  '  I  wonder  where  they  come  from,'  said  Eikon. 

"  '  Millions  and  millions  of  them  are  always  rush- 
ing round  the  sun,  in  all  parts  of  his  system;  and 
many  fall  upon  the  earth  and  other  planets.' 

"  '  And  the  moon,'  added  Eikon. 


Mr.  Fritz's  Story.  183 

"  '  Yes — and  the  moon,'  repeated  Stella.  '  Some 
believe  that  the  smaller  hollows  on  the  moon  are  not 
craters  at  all.  It  is  supposed  that  they  were  made 
long  ago  by  large  meteorites  falling,  at  a  time  when 
the  surface  of  the  moon  was  soft.  But  I  do  not 
think  anybody  is  quite  sure  about  this  yet.' 

PART  III. 

"  Eikon  looked  wistfully  at  the  rocky  parapet  of 
the  great  crater. 

"  '  Perhaps  we  could  find  some  water  over  there/ 
he  said. 

" '  We  will  explore,  by  all  means.  However,  I 
may  as  well  tell  you  at  once  that  there  is  no  water 
on  the  moon.' 

" '  No  water  at  all ! '  said  Eikon. 
,     "  '  Apparently  not — at  all  events  on  this  side.     I 
cannot  speak  as  to  the  other  side,  never  having  been 
there.' 

"  'Why  not  go  now  ?'  Eikon  desired  to  know. 

"  '  The  moon  only  turns  one  side  towards  earth — 
always  the  same  side,'  said  Stella.  '  No  one  knows 
anything  about  the  further  side.  My  Wings  of 
Imagination  cannot  carry  me  there;  for  I  have  no 
knowledge  of  what  exists  on  the  other  side.  Come 
—shall  we  mount  the  rocks  ?  Spring,  Eikon  ! ' 


184  Among-  the  Stars. 

"Eikon  had  rarely  in  his  life  been  more  astonished. 
Instead  of  alighting  at  a  distance  of  three  or  four 
feet,  he  cleared  with  ease  a  space  of  thirty  or  forty 
feet. 

"'Why,  how  is  this?'  he  exclaimed.  'I  never 
made  such  a  leap  in  my  life  before.'  Yet  his  exulta- 
tion was  a  little  damped  by  seeing  that  Stella  had 
done  the  same  as  himself. 

"'Ah,'  Stella  said,  with  a  smile;  'you  have  not 
been  used  to  leaping  on  the  moon.  Weight  here  is 
less  than  on  earth.' 

" '  I  can  believe  that.  I  never  knew  what  it  was 
to  feel  so  light  and  agile.  But  what  can  be  the 
reason  ? ' 

"'Merely  the  smaller  size  of  the  moon,'  replied 
Stella. 

"  A  few  more  such  springs,  and  some  swift  climb- 
ing and  running,  brought  them  soon  to  the  summit 
of  the  grim  parapet,  which  now  could  be  seen  ex- 
tending far  in  one  huge  unbroken  circle.  Within 
was  enclosed  a  deep  hollow.  At  the  centre  of  this 
hollow  a  group  of  three  or  four  high  hills  could  be 
seen,  all  sharp  and  jagged  and  shaped  like  cones. 
Inky  shadows  fell  from  them  upon  the  floor  of  the 
crater.  The  whole  scene  was  intensely  dreary.  No 
water;  no  grass;  no  blue  and  green  tints;  nothing 


Mr.  Fritz's  Story.  185 

to  soften  the  harsh  outlines.  Only  black  shadows 
and  a  black  sky,  contrasting  with  the  fierce  white 
glare  of  sunshine. 

"  '  Oh,  this  is  terrible,'  said  Eikdn,  shuddering. 
'I  could  not  bear  to  live  here.' 

" '  I  have  not  shown  you  the  worst  yet,'  Stella 
said  in  a  low  voice,  as  if  she  too  felt  the  oppression 
of  the  sight.  'You  know  now  something  of  what 
the  moon  is  in  her  day-time.  You  have  yet  to  learn 
the  bleak  horrors  of  her  night.' 

"  'Surely  no  living  creatures  can  possibly  exist  on 
such  a  world  ? '  said  Eikon. 

"  'One  would  suppose  not,'  Stella  replied  dreamily. 
'Sit  down,  Eikon,  and  let  us  vrait.  The  sun  will 
set  in  less  than  a  week,  and  then  night  will 
come.' 

"'A  week  ! '  gasped  the  boy. 

" '  Less  than  a  week.  Three  or  four  days,  I  should 
have  said.  The  moon's  day  lasts  a  fortnight  of  our 
earthly  days,  and  her  night  another  fortnight.  But 
her  day  is  now  a  good  deal  more  than  half  over;  for 
the  sun  has  long  passed  his  highest  position  in  the 
heavens.  We  will  wait  here  three  or  four  days, 
and  see  him  set.  Time  will  go  very  quickly. 
Remember,  our  waiting  will  be  only  on  the  Wings  of 
Imagination.'  Stella  spread  her  gauzy  wings,  with 
13 


1 86  Among  the  Stars. 

a  smile,  as  she  spoke,  and  gently  waved  them  :o 
and  fro. 

"  Eikon  readily  agreed.  Together  they  watched 
the  sun,  as  slowly,  very  slowly,  he  crept  across  tb« 
black  sky.  The  stars  moved  in  like  manner,  much  a* 
the  stars  are  seen  from  earth  to  move;  only  here  they 
could  be  watched  in  daylight,  and  from  earth  they  ca^ 
only  be  watched  at  night.  Moreover,  here  they  ap- 
peared to  move  with  exceeding  slowness,  like  the  sun. 
For  the  changes  which  on  earth  can  be  seen  to  take 
place  in  twenty-four  hours,  on  the  moon  can  only  be 
seen  to  take  place  in  twenty-eight  days  of  earth-time. 

"While  the  sun  and  stars  thus  lazily  advanced  to- 
wards their  setting,  the  radiant  earth  never  stirred 
from  her  place,  seeming  always  to  hang  like  a  glo- 
rious fixed  globe  at  one  spot  in  the  sky.  Changes 
of  another  kind  were  visible,  however.  For  earth 
could  be  seen  to  wax  and  wane,  going  through  her 
month  of  phases,  even  as  we  on  earth  see  the  moon 
wax  and  wane. 

"  '  If  we  were  here  twenty-eight  days,  we  should 
see  earth  pass  through  all  her  quarters  in  turn,  from 
new-earth  to  full-earth,  and  back  again  to  new- 
earth,'  said  Stella. 

" '  Like  new-moon  and  full-moon,  I  suppose,' 
Eik6n  replied.  '  How  wonderful  it  all  is.' 


Mr.  Fritz's  Story.  187 

"  By-and-by  the  radiant  sun  went  down.  Then, 
with  startling  suddenness,  night  was  upon  them. 

"  It  was  not,  indeed,  a  night  of  darkness.  On  this 
side  of  the  moon  there  is  at  all  times  the  beautiful 
shining  of  earth;  equal  at  her  full  to  more  than  a 
dozen  full-moons,  and  equal  at  her  crescent  to  more 
than  a  dozen  crescent-moons. 

"  But  the  cold  was  fearful — intense  past  words  to 
describe.  If  in  the  moon's  day,  water  would  pass 
instantly  into  steam;  in  the  moon's  night,  water 
would  change  no  less  rapidly  into  the  hardest  ice. 

"Except  on  Wings  of  Imagination,  no  human  being 
could  have  endured  the  awful  chill.  Stella  and  Eikon 
drew  closer  together,  shivering  at  the  desolation  of 
the  scene.  The  harsh  mountain  ranges  showed 
plainly  still  in  earth's  cold  light;  and  countless  stars 
shone  overhead  with  steady  radiance;  and  the  deep 
silence  was  unbroken  by  any  sound  of  movement  or 
of  life. 

'"Eikon,  have  you  had  enough?'  Stella  asked  at 
length. 

"'Yes — oh,  yes.  Let  us  go  home/  entreated 
Eikon. 

" '  Then  take  my  hand,'  she  said,  '  and  spread 
your  wings.  Shut  your  eyes,  and  have  no  fear.' 

"Again  with  swift  flight  they  rose  upward,  this  time 


1 88  Among  the  Stars. 

leaving  behind  the  dreary  wastes  of  moonland,  and 
passing  earthward.  Soon  they  came  out  of  moon's 
shadow,  and  once  more  found  themselves  in  the  full 
blaze  of  perpetual  sunlight. 

"  Before  Eikon  could  have  thought  it  possible,  he 
was  back  in  the  garden  he  had  left. 

"  How  fair  and  sweet  seemed  the  colouring  and 
shades  of  earth,  even  by  night,  after  the  terrible 
scenes  he  had  quitted  ! 

"  '  Oh,  I  would  not  live  on  the  moon,'  Eikon  cried. 
'  Earth,  dear  old  earth,  is  better  of  the  two.' 

"And  as  Eikon  said  these  words,  Stella  faded  from 
his  sight,  and  he  awoke." 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THINGS    LIGHT    AND    HEAVY. 

"I'M  glad  he  finished  his  dream  properly  before  he 
woke  up,"  said  Ikon,  in  a  deeply-interested  voice. 
"  He  managed  much  better  than  me,  didn't  he  ? " 

"  Better  than  /,"  suggested  Fritz. 

"O  yes — Miss  Mundy  always  tells  me  that.  I 
wish  I  could  go  to  the  moon  too,  Mr.  Fritz.  But 
oh  dear,  I  do  like  that  story  so  very  very  much. 
Only  I  wish  Eikon  had  seen  lots  and  lots  of  things 
more  before  he  came  back." 

"  Giants  and  griffins  ? "  asked  Fritz. 

"  No,  real  things,  I  mean.  Oh,  and  why  didn't  he 
and  Stella  go  round  to  the  other  side  of  the  moon  ? 
I  do  wish  you  had  made  them,  Mr.  Fritz." 

"  Couldn't,"  said  Mr.  Fritz. 

"  Couldn't  you  really  ? "  asked  Ikon. 

"  I  didn't  know  what  to  make  them  see  there." 

"  Don't  you  really  know  ?" 


190  Among  the  Stars. 

Fritz  shook  his  head. 

"  Not  much,  at  all  events,"  he  said.  "  There  would 
be  the  sun,  of  course — and  the  black  sky,  and  the 
stars  shining  by  daylight,  probably.  And  most 
likely,  the  same  sort  of  scenery.  But  nobody  really 
knows,  for  no  human  being  has  ever  looked  on  that 
side  of  the  moon." 

"  Nobody — ever  ? "  inquired  Ikon  seriously. 

"Nobody,  ever,"  repeated  Fritz.  "The  moon 
always  turns  the  same  side  to  us,  and  the  opposite 
side  is  always  turned  away." 

"But  I  suppose  it's  most  likely  just  the  same  as 
this  side,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Can't  say.  Very  possibly,"  responded  Fritz.  "  I 
know  one  difference.  At  night  there  is  no  earth- 
light." 

"  Don't  they  see  the  big  earth  shining  like  a  great 
moon  ?" 

"  No,  never.  There  are  only  the  stars  at  night. 
I  don't  know  who  you  mean  by  '  they,' "  added  Fritz 
drily. 

"  Oh,  I  meant  people — but  of  course  there  are  not 
any  people  on  the  moon,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Probably  not,"  said  Fritz. 

"Well,  I  know  one  thing,"  remarked  Ikon,  nodding 
his  head  with  an  air  of  confidence, — "  I  know  one 


Things  Light  and  Heavy.  191 

thing,  Mr.  Fritz.  The  moon  doesn't  spin  round  and 
round  on  its  axis,  like  the  earth  and  the  planets. 
Because  if  it  did,  of  course  the  other  side  would  come 
round  sometimes,  so  that  we  could  see  it." 

"  The  moon  does  spin  on  her  axis,"  said  Fritz. 
"  That  is  what  caused  the  sun  and  stars  to  ap- 
pear to  set,  when  Eikon  and  Stella  watched 
them." 

"  O  yes — I  forgot  about  the  sun  setting.  But  how 
•very  funny  and  extraordinary  it  was  that  the  earth 
shouldn't  have  gone  on  and  set  too,"  remarked  Ikonr 
puckering  up  his  forehead. 

"  It  does  seem  odd  at  first  sight,"  said  Fritz,  trying 
not  to  laugh.  "  But  look  here,  Ikon.  You  know, 
don't  you,  that  the  moon  goes  round  and  round  the 
earth  ?  " 

Ikon  nodded. 

"  As  the  moon  goes  round  the  earth,  if  she  did  not 
spin  on  her  axis  we  should  see  every  part  of  her  in 
turn." 

"Should  we?" 

"  Certainly.  If  you  were  to  move  slowly  round  me, 
never  turning  on  your  feet,  but  keeping  your  face 
steadily  fixed  in  one  direction,  I  should  see  first  your 
back,  then  your  side,  then  your  face,  then  your  other 
side." 


192  Among  the  Stars. 

"  O  yes,  of  course  you  would,"  said  Ikon,  his  face 
brightening. 

"  And  if  you  were  to  move  slowly  round  me,  spin- 
ning fast  on  your  feet  as  you  went,  I  should  still  have 
views  of  you  all  round." 

Ikon  looked  assent. 

"  But  if  you  were  to  move  round  me,  starting  with 
your  face  turned  towards  mine,  and  if  as  you  went 
you  were  to  spin  very  slowly  on  your  feet — so  slowly 
that  one  spin  would  take  just  the  same  time  as  once 
going  round  me — " 

"  Yes—"  said  Ikon. 

"  Then  I  should  only  see  your  face  all  the  while, 
and  never  your  back." 

Ikon  was  greatly  interested.  He  could  not  be 
content  without  trying  the  three  modes.  Fritz  had 
•  to  move  his  chair  to  the  middle  of  the  room.  Then 
Ikon  walked  round  him;  first,  keeping  his  face 
always  in  one  direction;  next,  spinning  so  fast  that 
he  became  giddy  and  nearly  fell  down;  lastly,  having 
his  face  steadily  turned  in  towards  Fritz  all  the 
while. 

"  But  I  didn't  seem  to  spin  on  my  feet  a  bit  this 
time,"  he  protested  at  the  close. 

"  You  did  spin,  Ikon,  whether  it  seemed  so  or  not. 
As  you  moved  round  me,  your  face  pointed  to  each 


/ 


Things  Light  and  Heavy.  193 

part  of  the  room  in  turn.  That  shows  that  you  were 
in  reality  turning  slowly  on  your  feet." 

"  Is  that  just  how  the  moon  goes  ? "  asked  Ikon. 

"  That  is  how  the  moon  goes.  The  time  that  the 
moon  takes  to  spin  once  round  upon  her  axis,  is 
exactly  the  same  as  the  time  that  she  takes  to 
journey  once  round  the  earth.  Both  are  twenty- 
eight  days.  This  is  how  it  happens  that  one  side  of 
the  moon  is  always  turned  towards  us,  and  never 
the  other  side.  And  this  is  why  our  earth  shines 
always  upon  one  side  of  the  moon,  so  that  anybody 
living  there  could  see  the  earth  seemingly  fixed  to 
one  place  in  the  sky." 

"  But,"  Mr.  Fritz,  said  Ikon  slowly, — "  couldn't  you 
have  made  Eikon  go  to  the  other  side  of  the  moon, 
an  A  fancied  something  for  them  to  see  ?" 

"  Certainly  I  could,"  said  Fritz  drily.  "  I  might 
have  made  them  find  Jack  and  the  Beanstalk  there, 
or  Cinderella  and  her  glass  slipper.  But  I  thought 
you  wanted  sense  in  my  story,  instead  of  non- 
sense." 

"  O  yes,  that  I  do"  cried  Ikon.  "  I  don't  want 
nonsense." 

"  People  have  fancied  a  good  many  things  about 
the  other  side  of  the  moon,"  said  Fritz.  "  Some  have 
wondered  whether  there  is  perhaps  air  there,  and 


194  Among  the  Stars. 

perhaps  water,  and  perhaps  grass  and  trees  and 
animals.  But  these  are  mere  guesses." 

"At  any  rate,  I'm  quite  sure  Jack  and  Cinderella 
aren't  there,"  said  Ikon,  laughing.  "  Mr.  Fritz, 
please  don't  go  yet.  I  want  to  ask  you  something 
else.  About  Eikon  jumping  so  easily  on  the  moon. 
I  couldn't  make  out  what  you  meant.  Stella  said 
it  was  because  the  moon  was  small." 

"  Do  you  know  what  causes  weight,  Ikon  ? " 

"  Things  being  big,"  said  Ikon. 

"  You  mean  that  a  big  thing  is  heavier  than  a, 
small  thing.  But  this  is  not  always  the  case.  A 
down  pillow  is  larger  than  an  iron  door-scraper;  yet 
the  pillow  would  not  weigh  the  heaviest." 

"  O  no.  Some  sorts  of  things  weigh  more  than 
other  sorts,"  said  Ikon. 

"  That  brings  us  back  to  my  question.  What 
causes  weight  ? " 

Ikon  thought,  and  thought  in  vain. 

"  Why  doesn't  this  table  float  up  in  the  air  ?"  asked 
Fritz. 

"Why,  it  can't,  Mr.  Fritz.  It  is  too  heavy— a 
great  deal  too  heavy." 

"  Just  so.     And  it  is  heavy  because — " 

Ikon  said  humbly, — 

"I  don't  know." 


Things  Light  and  Heavy.  195 

"  Because,"  said  Fritz,  "  the  earth  drags  it  down." 

"  Is  that  why  !  "  asked  Ikon. 

"  That  is  why.  The  earth  pulls  down  everything, 
— trees  and  hills,  and  houses  and  people,  and  stones, 
— everything,  in  fact." 

'•'  But  what  makes  the  earth  pull  ?" 

"  Everything  pulls  everything  else,"  said  Fritz. 
"  But  the  earth  is  so  enormously  bigger  than  any 
single  thing  upon  the  earth,  that  all  lesser  pullings 
are  quite  lost  sight  of  in  her  great  dragging  of  every- 
thing towards  herself.  We  call  this  pull  'attrac- 
tion.' And  the  downward  pressure  of  all  things  to- 
ward the  earth  we  call  '  gravitation.'  " 

"  But  what  makes  the  earth  pull  ?  "  repeated  Ikon. 

"  God  makes  it  do  so,"  Fritz  answered  gravely. 

Ikon  was  silent  for  some  seconds. 

"The  amount  of  attraction  or  pulling  in  each  in- 
stance depends  on  two  things,"  said  Fritz.  "  First, 
on  the  bulk  of  the  earth;  secondly,  on  the  bulk  of 
the  thing  attracted." 

"  But  you  said  the  biggest  things  weren't  the 
heaviest,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Not  always.  However,  if  I  have  two  pieces  of 
iron,  one  large  and  one  small,  the  large  piece  will 
weigh  the  most." 

Ikon  responded  by  "  Yes." 


196  Among  the  Stars. 

"  If  I  have  two  pieces  of  oak,  one  large  and  one 
small,  the  biggest  again  will  be  the  heaviest." 

"  Yes,"  repeated  Ikon. 

"  But  it  will  not  do  to  try  the  iron  against  the 
wood.  Iron  is  of  a  closer  make  than  wood, — it  has 
more  substance  pressed  into  a  smaller  space.  So  a 
piece  of  iron  is  heavier  than  a  piece  of  wood  the 
same  in  size." 

"  But  you  haven't  told  me  about  the  moon,  Mr. 
Fritz." 

"We  are  coming  to  that.  I  said  just  now  that  the 
weight  of  any  one  thing  depended  partly  on  its  own 
size,  partly  on  the  size  of  the  earth.  Now,  of  course, 
the  size  of  the  earth  does  not  change." 

"  It  doesn't  grow  bigger,"  said  Ikon,  smiling  at  the 
thought. 

"  Suppose  the  earth  were  bigger,"  said  Fritz. 
"  Suppose  our  world  were  as  large  as  Jupiter,  her 
make  being  the  same  as  it  is  now.  Then  her  attrac- 
tion would  be  very  much  greater  than  at  present. 
Objects  on  her  surface  would  be  pulled  towards 
the  ground  with  tremendous  force;  and  everything 
would  be  heavier.  A  man  who  can  now  walk  easily 
upright,  would  then  be  dragged  down  with  such 
power  that  he  would  have  to  lie  flat  on  the  ground." 

"  Couldn't  he  stand  at  all  ? "  asked  Ikon.   "  Couldn't 


Things  Light  and  Heavy.  197 

you  stand,  if  you  were  in  a  world  as  big  as 
Jupiter?" 

"  No,"  replied  Fritz.  "  Not  unless  I  were  differently 
made.  I  should  want,  for  instance,  much  stronger 
muscles,  before  I  could  resist  the  great  downward 
pull  of  such  a  world,  and  be  able  to  stand  upright." 

"  I'm  glad  we  don't  live  on  Jupiter,"  remarked 
Ikon. 

"  But  on  the  other  hand,"  said  Fritz,  "  suppose 
our  earth  were  much  smaller  than  she  is  now  !  Sup- 
pose the  earth  were  just  the  size  of  the  moon  !  " 

"  Yes  ?  "  Ikon  said. 

"Then  the  downward  pull  would  be  so  much 
slighter,  that  the  weight  of  everything  would  be 
lessened.  A  block  of  stone  which  a  man  now  is  not 
able  to  stir,  might  then  be  lifted  by  a  child." 

"Is  that  why  Eikon  could  jump  so  high?"  asked 
Ikon. 

"  That  is  why.  Have  you  anything  else  to  ask  ? 
For  I  must  go." 

"  I  don't  think  I  know  why  the  earth  in  the  sky 
had  halves  and  quarters  like  our  moon,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Do  you  understand  why  the  moon  has  phases, 
Ikon  ? " 

"  Phases  ?  "  repeated  Ikon,  in  a  puzzled  voice. 

"  Halves  and  quarters,  I  mean." 


198  Among  the  Stars. 

"  No,"  said  Ikon.     "  I  don't  know,  Mr.  Fritz." 

"  Some  day  you  ought  to  have  a  lesson  on  that 
subject.  I  can't  wait  for  it  to-day." 

"  Will  you  write  some  more  about  Eikon  and 
Stella  ?  "  asked  Ikon  imploringly,  as  he  rose. 

"  We  shall  see,"  said  Fritz. 

"  Mayn't  they  fly  off  and  visit  the  sun  ?  O,  do 
please  let  them  !  That  would  be  beautiful ! "  said 
Ikon,  with  sparkling  eyes. 

"  I'll  consider  the  matter,"  Fritz  answered. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

\ 

ANOTHER     STORY. 

A  FEW  days  later  Fritz  came  again,  with  a  small 
roll  of  papers  in  his  hand. 

"It  is  done,  Ikon,"  he  said  in  his  shyest  tone. 
"  The  child  Eikon  has  had  another  dream." 

"  The  sun  !  Has  he  been  to  the  sun  ?  And  Stella 
too  ?"  cried  Ikon. 

"Well,  yes  —  something  of  the  sort.  They  have 
paid  a  visit  to  the  neighbourhood  of  the  sun.  I 
could  not  well  take  them  nearer." 

"Oh,  you  dear  dear  kind  Mr.  Fritz  !"  cried  Ikon 
rapturously.  "  Do  please  read  it  to  me.  Don't  wait 
for  anything.  I  do  so  want  to  know  what  they  saw." 

The  story  was  as  follows: 


*  >S  JOURNEY  TOWARDS  THE  SUN. 

PART  I. 

"  THE  child  stood  again  in  the  garden,  leaning  idly 
against  a  small  tree.    Stars  overhead  could  not  be 


2oo  Among  the  Stars. 

seen,  because  of  the  sunshine  which  flooded  the 
air. 

"Eik6n  was  not  thinking  about  stars.  He  had 
been  trying  to  look  at  the  sun,  till  purple  spots  and 
blots  were  before  his  eyes  wherever  he  glanced. 
Eikon  did  not  know  the  danger  of  using  his  eyes 
thus." 

"  Why,  is  that  dangerous  ? "  asked  Ikon.  "  I  have 
tried  ever  so  often  to  look  at  the  sun." 

"  Don't  try  again,"  said  Fritz.  "  People  have  lost 
their  sight  in  time,  by  such  attempts." 

"  Mayn't  I  ever  look  ?  " 

"Yes,  sometimes — when  the  sun  is  setting;  or 
when  there  is  enough  mist  or  fog  to  dim  his  bright- 
ness. A  bit  of  smoked  glass  will  make  it  safe  at  any 
time." 

"  I'll  ask  Dormer  for  some  smoked  glass  this  very 
day,"  said  Ikon. 

Then  Fritz  went  on: 

"  He  was  wishing  that  it  were  only  possible  to  pay 
a  dream-visit  to  the  sun,  such  as  he  had  already  paid 
to  the  moon. 

"And  while  he  thought,  the  heat  of  the  day  made 
him  listless,  so  he  sat  down  upon  a  grassy  bank,  and 
presently  fell  asleep. 


Another  Story.  20 1 

"  He  did  not  know  himself  to  be  asleep.  He 
fancied  that  he  was  only  lying  on  the  bank,  thinking 
still  about  the  sun,  and  wishing  to  fly  away  from 
earth. 

"And  suddenly  a  silver  voice  said,  'Eikon  ! ' 
"  Then  he  started  up  to  find  Stella  beside  him, 
blue-eyed,  and  fair-haired,  and  robed  in  white,  with 
folded  gauzy  wings." 

"Does  the  real  live  Stella  always  wear  white  frocks  ?" 
asked  Ikon. 

"  I  am  not  sure,"  replied  Fritz  doubtfully.  "  I  have 
seen  her  in  white.  Ikon,  I  do  not  like  these  inter- 
ruptions. You  are  too  fond  of  hearing  your  own 
voice." 

"I'll  be  good,"  whispered  Ikon;  and  Fritz  con- 
tinued:— 

"  '  Eikon  ! '  she  said. 

"  'O  Stella,  Stella,  I  am  glad,'  cried  the  boy.  '  I 
have  longed  so  much  for  you,  that  we  might  take 
another  journey  to  the  skies.' 

"  '  What !  Did  you  not  have  enough  in  your  last  ?* 
she  asked,  softly  smiling. 

"  '  O  no,  no.     I  want  to  see  the  sun,  dear  Stella, 
said  the  boy  beseechingly. 
14 


2O2  Among  the  Stars. 

'"That  is  a  much  longer  voyage  than  before,' 
said  Stella.  'The  moon  is  only  two  hundred  and 
forty  thousand  miles  away;  but  the  sun  is  ninety-one 
millions  of  miles."' 

"  Ninety-one  millions  of  miles  !  What  a  lot  ? " 
murmured  Ikon. 

"  '  Ninety-one  millions  of  miles  !  That  does  in- 
deed sound  enormous!'  replied  Eikon.  'But  on 
Wings  of  Imagination,  Stella — ' 

"  'If  your  wings  are  strong  enough,  let  us  go,  by 
all  means,'  she  answered.  '  Come,  shall  we  try  ? 
We  can  but  turn  back  halfway.' 

"  Stella  did  not  this  time  bid  Eikon  close  his  eyes. 
He  spread  his  wings,  and  sprang  joyfully  upward. 
.  "  Together  they  rose  through  the  sunny  air,  till 
the  highest  flight  of  the  lark  was  left  far  behind, 
and  hills  dwindled  into  flatness.  No  shadow  of 
night  lay  behind  them  now;  but  green  fields  and 
the  broad  sparkling  ocean. 

"  Yet,  as  they  swept  rapidly  upwards,  changes 
came  to  pass.  They  reached  cloudland,  and  Eikon 
was  astonished  at  the  curling  wreaths  of  white  mist, 
which  from  below  had  looked,  so  firm  and  still  against 
the  blue  sky.  Leaving  these  light  clouds  they  rose 


Another  Story.  203 

higher,  and  soon  the  earth  beneath  glowed  in  the 
sunlight  with  a  strong  white  glare;  and  the  sky  over- 
head grew  from  blue  to  the  darkest  purple,  then 
deepened  into  inky  black. 

"  Stars  came  out  one  by  one,  as  at  night;  only  the 
sun  still  shone  intensely.  And  the  wreath  of  radiant 
light  fringing  the  sun  was  once  more  visible,  as  seen 
from  the  moon. 

" '  We  have  left  earth's  atmosphere  behind  us 
now,'  Stella  remarked.  'There  is  no  air  here.' 

" '  Only  what  you  call  ether"  said  Eikon. 

"  '  Yes — that  we  suppose.' 

" '  Shall  we  come  across  the  moon  on  our  way  to 
the  sky  ? '  asked  Eikon. 

"Stella  shook  her  head.  'The  moon,  is  at  this 
moment,  on  the  other  side  of  the  earth,'  she  said. 

"  '  Or  any  of  the  planets  ? '  asked  Eikon. 

"  '  No,'  she  said.  '  Not  if  we  travel  direct  from 
earth  towards  the  sun.  Neither  Venus  nor  Mercury 
lie  at  this  moment  anywhere  near  the  straight  line 
between  earth  and  sun.  And  all  the  other  planets, 
you  know,  have  their  pathways  outside  the  pathway 
of  our  earth.' 

"'I  should  have  liked  to  land  at  Venus  half-way,' 
observed  Eikon  wistfully. 

"'It   would   not  be   half-way/  Stella  answered. 


204  Among  the  Stars. 

'  Venus  at  one  point  in  her  orbit  does  certainly  pass 
somewhere  about  half-way  between  the  sun  and  our- 
selves. But  at  the  present  moment  a  journey  to 
Venus  would  be  quite  as  long  as  a  journey  to  the  sun 
himself.  And  a  journey  to  Mercury  would  be  even 
longer;  since  Mercury  is  on  a  part  of  his  orbit  quite 
beyond  the  sun.' 

"'Then  there  is  actually  no  planet  at  all  just 
now  between  earth  and  sun,'  said  Eik6n. 

" '  None  known  to  us.  That  is  no  uncommon 
state  of  things.  However,  if  you  keep  a  look-out 
you  may  see  some  passing  meteorites  here  and  there. 
Ha  ! '  as  a  small  body  rushed  past,  glowing  in  the 
sunlight.  '  There  is  one.' 

"  'Where  is  it  going?'  asked  Eikon  wonderingly. 

"'I  do  not  know,'  she  said.  'Each  meteorite 
has  its  own  little  pathway  round  the  sun.  But  if  it 
comes  near  enough  to  one  of  the  planets,  it  will  be 
drawn  aside,  and  will  fall  down  upon  the  planet. 
Millions  of  meteorites  are  destroyed  thus  every  hour.' 

"  'There  is  another  ! '  exclaimed  Eikon. 

" '  Yes — and  here  comes  a  third.  But  this  is 
nothing.  In  parts  of  the  Solar  System  they  flow  in 
a  continuous  stream,  countless  millions  travelling 
in  company.' 

"  '  Ah !  what  is  that  ? '  cried  EikOn,  when  they 


Another  Story.  205 

had  advanced  a  considerable  distance  through  the 
glare  of  sunshine — whether  thousands  or  millions  of 
miles  Eikon  could  not  tell,  so  swift  and  arrow-like 
was  their  flight.  '  Look  !  what  is  that  ? ' 

"  For  at  a  little  distance  he  saw  a  bright  star-like 
object,  with  a  tail  of  soft  light  curving  away  into 
space. 

" '  That  is  only  a  comet,'  said  Stella.  '  Have 
you  never  seen  a  comet  before  ?' 

"'Once,  I  think,'  Eikon  said,  with  some  hesita- 
tion. '  How  wonderful  and  beautiful !  Is  that 
comet  another  sun  ? ' 

"'O  no,'  Stella  said,  smiling.  'The  body  of  a 
comet  is  much  smaller  and  lighter  than  you  would 
suppose;  though  some  of  them  have  enormous  tails. 
But  this  is  a  very  small  one.' 

"  '  Where  is  it  going  ? '  asked  Eikon. 

" '  Round  and  round  the  sun,  I  suppose,'  she 
answered. 

"  '  You  suppose — but  you  do  not  know,  Stella  ? ' 

"  '  I  have  little  doubt  that  it  is  so  with  this  comet/ 
said  Stella. 

"  'And  the  tail  is — what  ? '  asked  Eikon. 

" '  No  one  can  answer  that  question,  Eikon.  There 
is  hardly  anything  in  nature  more  puzzling  than  the 
tail  of  a  comet ! ' 


206  Among'  the  Stars. 

"  '  I  should  like  very  much  to  go  nearer,'  mur- 
mured Eikon. 

"  '  Not  now,'  said  Stella.  '  We  have  enough  to 
think  about  to-day.  You  had  better  leave  alone 
thoughts  of  comets  and  meteorites,  and  fix  your  at- 
tention on  the  great  sun.  See  how  much  nearer  we 
are — how  large  he  has  grown.  Were  we  not  here  on 
Wings  of  Imagination,  we  could  not  for  an  instant 
face  this  tremendous  heat.' 

"  '  We  shall  not  be  blinded,  I  hope/  said  Eikon, 
amazed  at  the  surpassing  glare  of  light,  as  if  from 
an  enormous  electric  globe,  which  seemed  to  fill  all 
space  around  them.  So  intense  and  overpowering 
was  the  radiance,  that  the  brightest  summer's  day 
on  earth  would  have  been  as  dim  twilight  in  com- 
parison; and  Eikon  found  himself  positively  unable 
at  such  a  moment  to  picture  in  his  mind  the  meaning 
of  the  word  '  darkness.' 

"  '  No,'  Stella  answered.  '  It  will  neither  blind  us 
nor  drive  us  mad,  as  would  certainly  be  the  case  if 
we  were  not  here  on  Wings  of  Imagination  only.' 

"  '  Stella,  do  you  think  the  glory  of  heaven  itself 
can  go  beyond  this  ? '  asked  the  boy  softly,  as  they 
floated  side  by  side  in  the  ocean  of  dazzling  bril- 
liance. 

"  '  I  think  it  must,'  she  said  gently.     '  For  after 


Another  Story.  207 

all  our  sun  is  only  one  of  the  many  lamps  which 
were  made  by  Him  whose  throne  is  in  heaven.  I 
think  the  glory  of  His  throne  and  presence  must  sur- 
pass all  other  glory.  But  those  who  are  in  heaven 
are  fitted  to  endure  heaven's  light,  and  to  rejoice  in 
it.  Now,  Eikon,  look  steadily  at  the  sun,  and  tell 
me  what  you  see.' 

PART  II. 

"'I  see  a  glorious  sun  of  enormous  size,'  said  Eikon. 
*  A  round  body  still,  glowing  with  an  extraordinary 
blaze  of  light,  past  the  power  of  words  to  describe. 

" '  Look  attentively,'  Stella  said. 

"  '  Stella,  I  see  strange  dark  spots  upon  the  sun, 
several  of  them,  all  different  in  shape.  They  are 
blackest  in  the  centre,  and  they  have  grey  edges. 
Some  are  bridged  over  with  grey  streaks  across  the 
darkest  part.  Some  seem  to  remain  the  same,  but 
one  is  changing  quickly.  See  ! — the  grey  bridge  has 
broken  up  and  vanished.' 

" '  Those  are  sun-spots,'  said  Stella. 

" '  Are  they  stains  upon  the  bright  sun  ? '  asked 
Eikon. 

"  'No,  not  stains.  They  are  believed  to  be  great 
rents  or  holes  in  the  outer  burning  envelope  of  the 
sun,  letting  us  see  through  to  lower  depths.' 


208  Among  the  Stars. 

"  '  I  suppose  those  black  depths  are  quite  cool  and 
shady,  compared  with  the  outside,'  said  Eikon. 

"'No;  probably  not,'  she  answered.  'The 
blackness  is  perhaps  only  in  comparison  with  the 
outside  glare.  Some  believe  that  those  black  depths 
are  the  most  intensely  hot  of  all.  These  spots  are 
supposed  to  be  caused  by  tremendous  storms  and 
hurricanes  on  the  sun.  How  large  should  you  take 
them  to  be,  Eikon  ? ' 

'"It  is  difficult  to  judge,'  the  boy  said.  'Cer- 
tainly they  are  not  really  small.  Perhaps  they  may 
equal  in  size  the  great  craters  on  the  moon.' 

"  Stella  quite  laughed.  '  One  of  those  bigger 
spots,'  she  said,  '  is  most  likely  from  fifty  thousand 
to  a  hundred  thousand  miles  across.  The  whole 
moon  might  lie  as  a  little  boulder  in  one  corner  of 
it.  Fifty  such  planets  as  our  earth  thrown  in  would 
not  fill  up  that  hole  ! ' 

"  '  You  do  not  really  mean  it,  Stella  ? ' 

" '  I  do  indeed.  Ah,  if  we  could  go  close  and  look  in! 
But  even  in  imagination  that  is  too  much,'  she  said. 

"  '  What  are  those  other  spots  ? '  asked  Eikon 
suddenly.  '  Not  black,  but  most  intensely  bright — 
brighter  even  than  the  radiant  surface  of  the  sun.' 

"  '  They  are  called  facul&J  Stella  answered.  '  I 
can  give  you  no  English  word.  But  they  too  are 


Another  Story.  209 

doubtless  caused  by  great  stormy  disturbances,  and 
outbursts  of  tremendous  flame.' 

"  '  See — such  a  bright  spot  has  appeared  this  in- 
stant,' said  Eikon.  '  It  grows  brighter  as  I  look.' 

"  '  It  may  be  of  the  nature  of  some  volcanic  out- 
burst,' she  answered. 

"  '  And,  Stella — oh,  Stella,  I  notice  something 
else,'  cried  the  boy.  '  The  whole  face  of  the  sun  is 
strangely  mottled  all  over.  What  extraordinary 
markings — almost  like  tiny  slender  leaves,  lying 
closely  side  by  side,  or  crossing  each  other  in  all 
directions.  Thousands  upon  thousands  of  them.' 

"  'Those  tiny  leaves,  as  you  call  them,  are  each 
hundreds  of  miles  probably  in  length,'  said  Stella. 
'  Some  have  described  them  as  being  shaped  like 
grains  of  rice.' 

"  '  But  what  are  they,  Stella  ?' 

" '  No  one  can  yet  answer  that  question,'  said 
Stella  quietly.  '  Go  on — tell  me  more. 

"  '  Round  the  edge  of  the  sun — O  how  marvel- 
lous ! — round  the  edge  of  the  sun  it  is  as  a  sea  of 
quivering  fire;  not  water,  but  fire,  Stella.  I  seem  to 
see  the  very  rising  and  falling  of  the  billows,  like 
the  waves  against  the  horizon,  on  a  stormy  day  by 
the  ocean.  How  grand  !  " 

"  'It   is   a  sea.  and   a   sea   of  fire,'   said   Stella. 


2io  Among  the  Stars. 

*  Those  are  indeed  fiery  billows  of  enormous  size, 
ever  rising  and  falling.' 

"  'All  around  the  sun's  edge,'  said  Eikon. 

"  '  All  over  the  sun's  surface,  Eikon.  For  the  sun 
is  perpetually  turning  round  and  round,  just  as  the 
earth  does;  and  every  part  of  his  surface  is  at  the 
edge  sooner  or  later.  That  which  we  see  at  the  edge 
of  the  sun  is  merely  a  side-view  of  what  really  covers 
the  whole  globe.  When  you  at  home  see  waves 
against  the  horizon,  on  the  ocean,  you  may  be  quite 
sure  that  there  are  like  waves  all  over  the  surface 
between  you  and  the  horizon.' 

"  '  There  is  something  else,'  cried  Eikon. 
'  Strange  jagged  crimson  shapes,  standing  high  out 
of  that  fiery  sea — some  like  jets  and  fountains  of  fire, 
and  others  like  sharp-toothed  mountains  of  fire,  and 
others  again  like  great  flames  darting  upward.' 

" '  And  they  no  doubt  are  flames,'  said  Stella. 
'  These  are  most  likely  a  kind  of  volcanic  outburst 
here  and  there.' 

"  '  Like  the  white  spots  on  the  sun  ? '  asked  Eikon. 

"  '  Perhaps  a  side-view  of  the  very  same  kind  of 
thing,'  she  answered.  '  What  do  you  think,  Eikdn, 
of  flames  ten  or  twenty  thousand  miles  in  length  ? 
Those  strange  red  "  prominences,"  as  men  call  them, 
must  be  of  the  nature  of  flame.' 


Another  Story.  21 1 

44  4  See,  there  is  a  fresh  one  bursting  upward  at 
this  moment,'  cried  Eikon.  *  It  is  rising — rising — 
oh,  what  a  height  ! ' 

4 ' 4  Yes.  Our  earth  might  lie  as  a  little  ball  at  the 
foot  of  that  fiery  peak,"  said  Stella. 

44  'There — it  has  exploded,  or  broken,'  Eikon  said 
presently.  4  Now  it  is  slowly  dying  down  again. 
How  perfectly  wonderful.' 

44  4  Wonderful,  indeed  !  For  these  outbursts  may 
be  watched,  not  only  from  where  you  and  I  now 
are,  Eikon,  but  actually  from  earth  itself  through 
powerful  telescopes,'  said  Stella.  4  Think  what  the 
outburst  of  flame  must  be,  which  can  be  seen  at  a 
distance  of  ninety-one  million  miles.' 

44 4  Could  /see  it  through  a  telescope  ? '  asked  Eikon. 

44  4  Not  at  all  times,'  she  answered.  4  The  thick 
air  of  earth,  and  the  glare  of  sunlight  in  that  air, 
hide  from  us  these  strange  sights.  But  they  may  be 
seen  in  a  total  eclipse.' 

"  *  A  total  eclipse  ! '  repeated  Eik6n.  4  What  is 
that?' 

444  The  moon  sometimes  passes  exactly  between 
earth  and  sun,  so  that  for  a  few  seconds  she  entirely 
hides  the  sun  from  us.  Then,  when  the  dark  body 
of  the  moon  just  covers  the  bright  surface  of  the 
sun,  these  strange  red  flames,  together  with  the 


212  Among'  the  Stars. 

fiery  sea,  may  be  plainly  seen.  Now,  Eikon,  look 
again,  and  notice  what  comes  next,  outside  the  peaks 
and  fountains  of  flame.' 

"  '  Ah,  there  is  the  beautiful  fringe  of  light  which 
we  saw  from  the  moon,'  said  Eikon.  'What  is  it 
called  ? ' 

"  '  The  corona,  or  crown,'  Stella  replied. 

"  '  But  it  was  many-coloured  then,  with  changing 
tints,'  said  Eikon.  '  Now  it  is  silvery  white,  and 
the  crown  has  violet  rays.  Some  of  the  rays  have  a 
strange  appearance,  as  if  bent  and  twisted  in  bundles. 
And  what  a  distance  they  reach  ! ' 

"  '  Some  suppose  these  rays  of  light  to  be  a  con- 
stant outpouring  from  the  sun — perhaps  an  enor- 
mous and  ceaseless  stream  of  meteorites, 'said  Stella. 

*  Do  you  see  also,  Eikon,  a  fainter  radiance,  outside 
the  corona,  and  reaching  far  far  away  into  space  ? 
This  may  be  often  seen  from  earth,  before  sunrise  or 
after  sunset;  and  it  is  called  the  Zodiacal  Light.' 

"  '  Stella,  cannot  we  go  nearer  yet  ? '  cried  Eikon. 

*  Cannot  we  look  into  the  dark  spot,  and  stand  beside 
the  fiery  mountains,  and  examine  the  crown  of  light  ?' 

"  '  I  fear  not,'  she  said  gently.  '  We  should  not 
know  what  to  see.  We  could  not  distinguish  what 
is  true  from  what  is  fancy.  I  cannot  take  you  nearer 
to  the  sun.  Eikon  ! ' " 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

WHY  THE  STORY  WAS  NOT  ENDED. 

"  Is  that  all  ? "  asked  Ikon,  opening  his  eyes  wide. 

Fritz  rubbed  his  head, 

"  I  didn't  know  how  to  carry  it  on,"  he  said. 

"  But  couldn't  you — oh,  couldn't  you  have  taken 
them  close  to  the  sun  ?  It  seems  so  uncomfortable, 
their  just  floating  about  nowhere,"  said  Ikon,  in  a 
dissatisfied  tone. 

"  Somewhere,  not  nowhere,"  said  Fritz. 

"  Well,  but  I  mean — they  weren't  on  anything," 
said  Ikon.  "  They  only  just  went  floating  about, 
millions  of  miles  away  from  everything.  Couldn't 
you  have  taken  them  right  to  the  sun  ?  Because 
of  course  they  wouldn't  be  burnt,  when  they  had 
Wings  of  Imagination." 

"  When  they  travelled  on  Wings  of  Imagination, 
you  mean,  I  suppose,"  said  Fritz.  "  I  did  think  of 
that.  But  I  found  serious  difficulties.  We  really 


214  Among  the  Stars. 

know  so  little  of  the  sun.  If  I  had  landed  them 
there,  I  should  only  have  landed  myself  in  perplexity. 
Besides,  there  seems  to  be  nothing  to  land  them  on. 
Even  in  imagination  I  could  hardly  make  them 
stand  or  sit  on  billows  of  fire  and  mountains  of 
flame." 

"  But  there  are  the  spots,"  said  Ikon.  "  Mightn't 
Eikon  and  Stella  have  explored  inside  those  black 
holes  ? " 

"They  are  not  holes,  like  holes  in  a  rock,"  said 
Fritz.  "It  is  so  difficult  to  give  a  child  of  your  age 
any  true  idea  of  these  things.  A  hole  on  the  surface 
of  the  sun  may  only  mean  a  break  in  the  fiery  sea, 
where  the  outer  envelope  is  torn  open  by  a  tremen- 
dous whirlwind." 

"  But  couldn't  Eikon  have  peeped  through  ? "  per- 
sisted Ikon. 

"  You  forget  the  size  of  the  spots  when  you  talk  of 
'peeping  through,'"  said  Fritz,  in  rather  a  severe 
tone.  "A  dozen  or  fifteen  worlds,  such  as  ours, 
strung  like  beads  on  an  enormous  rope,  and  hung 
across  the  opening,  would  not  reach  from  one  side 
to  the  other  of  the  biggest  sun-spots  which  are 
sometimes  seen." 

Ikon  said  only,  "  O  dear  !  "  to  this. 

"  Besides,"  added  Fritz,  "  I  cannot  at  all  be  sure 


Why  the  Story  was  not  Ended.  215 

what  he  ought  to  find  within.  So  it  was  safer  to 
keep  at  a  distance." 

"  The  grey  edges  and  bridges,  and  the  black 
middle,"  suggested  Ikon. 

"  The  umbra  and  penumbra — yes.  But  nobody 
knows  what  the  grey  edges  and  the  black  centre 
would  look  like,  if  one  were  near.  You  are  a 
rather  unreasonable  little  boy,  I  think.  You  don't 
want  a  nonsense-story,  and  yet  you  are  vexed  because 
I  don't  attempt  to  describe  more  than  I  know." 

"  I  won't  be  vexed,"  said  Ikon  eagerly.  "You  are 
so  kind  to  take  such  a  lot  of  trouble.  Only  won't 
you  please  do  one  thing — won't  you  just  tell  me  a 
little  more  about  the  sun  now,  in  your  own  words?" 

Fritz  looked  up  to  the  ceiling,  and  down  on  the 
floor,  and  seemed  to  think  it  would  be  rather  nice  to 
run  away.  But  Ikon's  wistful  black  eyes  held  him 
captive. 

"  You  know  the  size  of  the  sun  ? "  Fritz  burst  out 
abruptly  at  length. 

"O  yes,"  Ikon  said.  "It  has  got  a  diameter  more 
than  eight  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  miles  long." 

"Don't  say  it  has  got!"  said  Fritz.  "It  'has  a 
diameter.'  That  is  enough." 

Ikon  nodded. 

"Well !  "  Fritz  said,  rubbing  his  forehead,  "if  you 


216  Among  the  Stars. 

had  more  than  one  million  worlds,  all  the  same  size 
as  our  earth,  and  if  you  rolled  them  all  together  into 
one  huge  globe,  that  globe  would  be  scarcely  as 
large  as  the  sun." 

"Wouldn't  it  really?"  asked  Ikon. 

"  No.  Of  course  I  am  talking  now  about  the 
seeming  size  of  the  sun,"  said  Fritz.  "  I  don't  know 
at  all  how  large  the  solid  part  of  the  sun  may  be. 
We  can  only  measure  the  sun  as  a  whole,  including 
his  fiery  surroundings, — a  sort  of  atmosphere  of  fire." 

"  And  a  sea  of  fire,"  said  Ikon. 

"  You  can  call  it  a  sea,  if  you  like, — but  it  is  a  sea 
where  there  is  no  water.  The  waves  are  waves  of 
flame." 

"  Perhaps  there  is  a  real  small  sun  inside,  quite 
cool  and  comfortable,"  suggested  Ikon. 

"  There  may  be  a  firm  central  body,  very  likely. 
I  don't  know  what  to  say  to  the  idea  of  coolness  or 
comfort,  under  such  an  envelope  of  flames.  However 
— as  to  the  weight  of  the  sun!  We  know  something 
about  that.  Suppose  we  had  an  enormous  pair  of 
scales." 

"  Cook  has  scales  in  the  kitchen,"  said  Ikon. 

"  These  would  be  much  bigger  scales.  They  must 
be  so  tremendous  that  in  one  scale  we  can  put  the 
whole  great  sun." 


Why  the  Story  was  not  Ended.  217 

"  O  dear  me  ! "  gasped  Ikon.  "  They  would  have 
to  be  big  !  " 

"  The  question  would  be,  what  to  put  in  the  other 
scale,  so  as  to  out-weigh  the  great  weight  of  the  sun," 
said  Fritz. 

"Wouldn't  a  star  do?" 

"  Might ! "  said  Fritz.  "  But  we  can't  weigh  the 
stars.  The  planets  have  been  weighed,  and  the  sun 
too." 

"  Have  they  really  ? "  asked  Ikon,  with  astonished 
eyes. 

"  Certainly.  Not  in  scales,  but  by  calculation. 
You  cannot  possibly  understand  all  this,  till  you  are 
older.  Now  suppose  we  have  put  the  sun  into  one 
scale.  We  then  bring  together — in  imagination — all 
the  planets,  Mercury,  Venus,  Earth,  Mars,  Jupiter, 
Saturn,  Uranus,  Neptune,  and  the  Asteroids,  rolling 
them  into  one  huge  ball." 

"  Will  that  ball  be  heavy  enough  to  weigh  down  the 
other  scale,  Mr.  Fritz?" 

"  No,"  said  Fritz.  "  The  other  scale  would  scarcely 
stir  under  it.  You  would  need  about  seven  hundred 
and  forty  of  such  balls, — each  as  heavy  as  all  the 
planets  put  together, — before  the  two  scales  would 
hang  equal." 

Then  there  was  a  pause, 
15 


2i8  Among  the  Stars. 

"  Mr.  Fritz,"  said  Ikon. 

"Yes,  Ikon." 

"  I  don't  think  I  can  really  quite  understand  that 
sort  of  enormous  bigness." 

"  Of  course  you  can't,"  said  Fritz. 

"And  when  you  talk  about  millions  and  millions 
and  millions  of  miles, — I  do  try  to  make  myself  see 
them.  But  it  seems  as  if  they  couldn't  get  inside  my 
head." 

"  Quite  true,"  assented  Fritz. 

"  I  liked  it  much  best  when  Herr  Lehrer  made  the 
sun  and  planets  all  seem  to  get  a  little  together." 

"  Well,  yes, — that  is  the  best  plan,"  said  Fritz. 

"  Only  I  wish  I  could  understand  properly  all  about 
the  great  big  real  sizes." 

"  It's  no  use  to  worry  yourself,"  said  Fritz.  "  Man's 
mind  is  only  made  with  a  certain  grasp.  Your  hand 
can't  hold  a  larger  thing  than  it  is  made  to  hold; 
and  your  mind  cannot  either." 

Ikon  looked  at  his  little  fingers  curiously. 

"  But  if  I  had  a  man's  hand,  I  could  hold  some- 
thing bigger,"  he  said. 

"And  if  you  had  a  man's  mind,  you  could  grasp 
matters  which  you  cannot  grasp  now.  Nevertheless, 
there  would  always  be  very  much  beyond  your  grasp." 

"  Even  if  I  were  like  Herr  Lehrer  ? " 


Why  the  Story  was  not  Ended.  219 

"  Herr  Lehrer  has  a  great  mind,"  replied  Fritz. 
"  But  Herr  Lehrer  is  always  saying  how  little  he 
knows  and  understands." 

"  Doesn't  Herr  Lehrer  know  all  about  a  comet's 
tail  ? "  asked  Ikon,  after  a  pause. 

"  Nobody  does,"  said  Fritz. 

"  Not  what  it  is  made  of?  " 

"  No,"  said  Fritz. 

"  I  should  like  to  see  a  comet  quite  close — a  real 
big  comet,"  said  Ikon.  "  Have  you  seen  a  comet, 
Mr.  Fritz?" 

"  More  than  one;  but  not  quite  close." 

"  Do  tell  me  about  a  real  big  comet,"  said  Ikon. 

"  I  have  seen  several,"  replied  Fritz.  "  Yesterday 
evening  I  was  looking  at  the  picture  of  a  comet 
which  appeared  in  1861.  That  was  a  remarkable 
one." 

"  Had  it  got  a  tail,  Mr.  Fritz  ?  " 

"  It  had  a  tail.  It  also  had  a  head.  We  call  the 
head  a  nucleus.  Most  comets  have  a  head  and  a 
tail." 

"Was  the  picture  pretty?  Was  it  a  very  nice 
comet  ? " 

"  Sir  John  Herschel  was  particularly  interested  in 
that  comet,  so  no  doubt  it  was  '  nice,' "  said  Fritz 
drily.  "  The  picture  gives  the  comet  as  he  saw  it." 


22O  Among  the  Stars. 

"  Who  is  Sir  John  Herschel  ? "  inquired  Ikon. 

"  He  was  a  famous  astronomer;  and  his  father, 
Sir  William  Herschel,  was  still  more  famous." 

"And  he  liked  that  comet  ?"  pursued  Ikon. 

"  Everybody  liked  to  see  that  comet.  It  was  large, 
and  very  bright.  At  one  time  it  came  so  near  our 
earth,  that  some  thought  we  might  even  have  passed 
through  part  of  its  tail.  But  no  one  could  be  sure.". 

"Wouldn't  a  comet's  tail  burn  us  ?  " 

"  Probably  not.  We  cannot  say  much  as  to  the 
nature  of  comets'  tails;  only  we  know  them  to  be  of 
the  lightest  and  thinnest  possible  make." 

"Mr.  Fritz,  are  you  going  to  tell  me  any  more 
about  the  sun  ? "  Ikon  asked  suddenly. 

Fritz  considered  for  some  moments,  and  said— 
"  He  always  turns  round  and  round  upon  his  axis." 

"  Like  the  earth,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Yes;  only  the  sun  takes  twenty-six  days,  instead 
of  twenty-four  hours,  to  spin  once." 

"  Two  days  less  than  the  little  moon,"  said  Ikon. 

"  True.  This  spinning  movement  of  the  sun  was 
first  found  out  through  the  spots.  Men  saw  the 
spots  slowly  travelling  across  the  sun's  face,  taking 
nearly  a  fortnight  to  cross,  disappearing  for  a  fort- 
night on  the  other  side,  and  then  appearing  again." 

"  Do  the  spots  always  keep  the  same  ?    I  thought 


THE   COMET   OF    1861. 


STARS. 


p.  220. 


Why  the  Story  was  not  Ended.  221 

Eikon  and  Stella  saw  one  changing  and  going  to 
pieces." 

"  Some  spots  remain  the  same,  with  little  or  no 
change  for  many  weeks.  Others  break  up  and  vanish 
in  a  few  days,  or  a  few  hours,  or  even  in  a  few 
minutes.  You  must  remember  that  the  whole 
surface  of  the  sun  is  in  a  state  of  tremendous 
turmoil — all  roaring  flames,  and  fiery  billows,  and 
furious  storms.  In  fact,  we  cannot  possibly  picture 
to  ourselves  the  real  condition  of  things  there." 

"Are  Stella  and  Eik6n  going  to  visit  somewhere 
else  ?  "  asked  Ikon,  in  a  beseeching  voice. 

"  I  don't  quite  know,"  said  Fritz.  "  Perhaps  I  will 
try.  But  this  last  attempt  seems  rather  a  failure." 

"  I  should  like  Eikon  very  much  to  go  to  Mars,  and 
to  travel  about  everywhere,  without  ever  having  to 
be  sea-sick." 

"But  it  would  be  rather  awkward,"  Fritz  re- 
marked, "  to  take  him  to  Mars,  and  make  him  walk 
about  there,  when  I  have  not  the  least  idea  what  he 
ought  to  see." 

"  I  wish  we  did  know  a  great  deal  more,"  sighed 
Ikon.  "  There  seem  to  be  such  lots  of  things  you 
can't  tell  me  " 

"  I  dare  say  we  are  none  the  worse,  in  the  end,  for 
being  made  to  feel  our  own  ignorance,"  said  Fritz. 


222  Among  the  Stars. 

"  Must  you  go  ? "  asked  Ikon,  as  he  rose. 

"  I  really  must,"  said  Fritz. 

"  Couldn't  you  just  end  that  story,  and  let  them 
come  back  and  wake  up." 

"  I'll  consider,"  said  Fritz.  "  Well,  yes — I  have  an 
idea.  I  will  come  again  soon,  and  give  you  one  more 
reading.  And  that  will  be  the  last  before  I  leave 
home." 

"  Are  you  leaving  too  ?  O  I  am  sorry ! "  said  Ikon. 
"  Everybody  seems  to  go  away." 

"  Never  mind.  Your  turn  will  come  some  time," 
said  Fritz  kindly. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

A  SEQUEL  TO  THE  STORY. 

THREE  or  four  days  later  Fritz  appeared  again,  with 
the  usual  little  bundle  of  papers;  and  after  a  few 
words  of  greeting,  he  read  aloud  as  follows. 


JOURNEY  AMONG  THE  PLANETS. 

PART  I. 
"  '  AND  you  cannot  take  me  any  nearer,  Stella  ? ' 

"  '  No,'  she  said;  '  I  find  even  my  own  wings  not 
strong  enough;  and  yours  are  less  practised  than 
mine.  The  heat  and  glare  would  be  too  fearful.  Even 
in  imagination  one  cannot  face  such  a  sight.' 

"  '  And  must  we  go  home  now  ?  ' 

' '  Stella  seemed  lost  in  thought.  She  said  at  length: 
'  I  should  like  not  to  return  immediately.  Are  your 
wings  weary  yet  ? ' 

"  '  O  no  ! '  he  said,  '  I  am  quite  ready  for  a  further 
flight.  Where  shall  we  go  next  ? ' 


224  Among  the  Stars. 

"  '  I  should  like  much,'  she  replied,  '  to  give  you  a 
rapid  view  of  the  Solar  System  as  a  whole.' 

" '  May  we  visit  all  the  planets  ?'  asked  Eik6n  with 
delight. 

"  '  I  cannot  promise  to  take  you  actually  upon  those 
other  worlds.  Wings  of  Imagination  have  their 
limits  in  what  they  can  do.  But  I  should  like  to 
take  you  nearer — to  give  you  a  view  of  Mercury's 
speed,  and  Jupiter's  great  size,  and  Saturn's  wonder- 
ful rings.  It  will  be  something  of  a  bird's-eye  view.' 

"  Then  Stella  paused  again,  and  thought. 

"  '  You  know,  perhaps,'  she  said,  '  that  all  the 
planets  travel  in  nearly  the  same  plane  ? ' 

"  Eikon  shook  his  head.     He  did  not  understand. 

"  '  I  mean  this,'  she  said.  '  Suppose  there  were 
stretched  out  in  space  a  great  transparent  sheet, 
reaching  through  all  the  Solar  System.  Suppose 
that  the  sun  were  exactly  at  the  centre  of  this  sheet, 
half  his  body  being  above,  and  half  below  it.  You 
are  supposing  ? ' 

"  '  Yes,'  said  Eikon. 

"  '  You  must  also  suppose  the  sheet  to  be  so  made 
that  the  planets  can  pass  with  ease  through  it.  Now, 
the  sun  being  in  the  middle  of  this  sheet,  the  planets 
will  all  have  their  pathways  almost  flat  upon  or  level 
with  the  sheet.  Not  quite — for  each,  more  or  less, 


A   Sequel  to  the  Story.  225 

will  rise  just  a  little  above  and  sink  a  little  below  it, 
at  different  parts  of  their  orbits.  But  all  will  keep 
nearly  to  that  one  level.' 

'"I  think  I  see  your  meaning,  Stella.' 

"  '  That  sheet  pictures  what  men  call  the  plane  of  the 
ecliptic.  You  and  I  will  now  rise  on  our  wings  above 
this  plane  or  supposed  flat  surface  in  space,  and  will 
take  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  Solar  System.' 

"  '  I  am  ready,'  Eikon  said. 

"  '  Only  remember,  Eikon,  there  is  no  real  sheet. 
There  is  nothing  in  space  to  mark  the  level  which 
the  planets  so  nearly  keep.  And  when  I  speak  of 
rising  above  it,  I  speak  as  men  speak  on  our  earth. 
Seen  from  Earth,  this  would  be  a  northerly  part  of 
the  heavens.  But  away  from  earth,  so  far  as  we 
know,  there  is  no  up  or  down.' 

"  '  That  seems  very  strange,1  said  Eikon. 

"  '  Well,  we  will  call  it  "  up,"  for  convenience,'  she 
answered.  '  Now  come.  We  will  not  venture  too 
near  the  great  sun.  But  that  sun  must  be  our  centre, 
from  which  to  reckon  all  else.' 

"  Then  it  seemed  to  Eikon,  as  they  went,  that  his 
sight  had  a  strange  new  power  given  to  it.  Hover- 
ing above  the  Solar  System,  he  was  able  to  view 
the  wondrous  sight  more  fully.  Miles  were  miles 
and  distances  were  distances  still;  yet  the  vastness  of 


226  Among  the  Stars. 

space  appeared  to  shrink  and  to  come  within  the 
grasp  of  his  mind  and  thought. 

"  He  could  see  the  glowing  central  orb,  apparently 
at  rest,  only  turning  steadily  upon  its  axis.  A  blaze 
of  splendour,  past  description,  filled  space  around. 
The  unutterable  radiance  of  the  globe  as  a  whole; 
the  surging  ocean  of  stormy  flame-billows  in  which  it 
was  enwrapped;  the  grey  and  black  spots  where  this 
fiery  envelope  was  rent  open  by  fierce  tempests;  the 
tremendous  mountains  of  flame  springing  out  of  the 
fiery  ocean; — all  these  were  clearly  seen  by  Eikon, 
yet  without  any  sense  of  terror  on  his  part. 

"  He  could  perceive  the  gorgeous  crown  of  col- 
oured and  silvery  rays,  reaching  far  away  from  the 
sun.  He  noted,  also,  what  seemed  to  be  countless 
millions  of  meteorites,  speeding  incessantly  round 
the  sun,  and  glittering  in  his  light.  Millions  of 
these  were  each  moment  falling  upon  the  sun,  while 
millions  more  each  moment  rushed  in  from  the  dis- 
tance to  supply  their  place.  He  began  to  wonder 
whether,  perhaps,  those  rays  of  light  in  the  corona 
might  really  be  caused  by  the  sunshine  falling  on 
these  countless  multitudes  of  little  whirling  bodies, 
never  for  an  instant  at  rest. 

"  As  Eikon  looked,  lost  in  admiration,  he  saw  a 
great  comet  drawing  near.  This  comet  was  much 


A   Sequel  to  the  Story.  227 

larger  than  the  one  he  had  seen  before,  with  a 
magnificent  tail,  or  train  of  light,  curving  away  and 
branching  into  a  forked  ending,  like  two  tails  springing 
from  one. 

"  '  We  will  watch  this,'  Stella  said  quietly. 

"  The  comet  did  not  keep  to  the  same  plane  or 
level  as  the  planets,  but  approached  the  sun  from 
that  direction  which  Stella  had  called  '  above.'  As 
it  came,  it  rushed  ever  faster  and  faster,  the  bright 
star-like  head  foremost,  surrounded  by  a  soft  cap 
of  radiance.  Nearer  and  yet  nearer  it  drew,  till  so- 
close  to  the  sun  that  Eikon  cried  aloud,  thinking 
it  must  surely  fall  in  upon  the  raging  flames  and 
perish.  But  no;  the  tremendous  speed  with  which, 
it  now  journeyed  carried  it  safely  round. 

"  For  a  little  while — how  long  EikSn  could  not  tell 
-—the  comet  was  lost  to  sight,  hidden  by  the  radiant 
body  of  the  sun.  Then  it  came  out  on  the  other 
side,  somewhat  changed  in  shape  by  the  tremendous 
heat  through  which  it  had  passed. 

"  A  strange  sight  was  now  visible,  which  made 
Eikon  again  call  out  in  excitement. 

"He  had  noted,  as  the  comet  rushed  round  the 
sun,  that  the  great  tail,  instead  of  simply  trailing 
after  the  comet's  head,  had  swung  outwards  in  an 
enormous  sweep,  pointing  always  away  from  the 


228  Among  the  Stars. 

sun.  Now,  more  wonderfully  yet,  as  the  comet 
journeyed  on  its  pathway,  leaving  the  sun  behind,  it 
was  the  tail  which  went  first,  and  the  head  which 
followed  after. 

"'Stella,  how  is  that?'  asked  the  boy  breath- 
lessly. 

'"I  do  not  know,'  she  answered.  'No  one 
understands  how  it  is.  A  comet's  head  always 
points  towards  the  sun,  and  a  comet's  tail  always 
points  away  from  the  sun.  But  I  cannot  tell  you 
the  reason.' 

'"But  what  can  the  tail  be  made  of?'  asked 
Eikon. 

"  '  I  do  not  know,'  she  said  again.  '  No  one  knows 
Some  have  thought  one  thing  and  some  another 
It  is  a  great  perplexity.  Now,  Eikon,  we  will  look 
at  the  planets.' 

"  '  How  long  do  you  suppose  it  took  that  comet 
to  sweep  round  the  sun,  Stella  ? ' 

'"A  few  days,  probably,'  she  replied. 

"  '  Have  we  been  days  watching  ? ' 

"  '  Only  on  Wings  of  Imagination,'  she  answered, 
smiling. 


A   Sequel  to  the  Story.  229 


PART  II. 

"  As  Eikon  looked  about,  it  seemed  to  him  that 
he  caught  sight  of  a  little  planet-like  globe,  not 
very  distant. 

41 '  What  is  that ! '  he  exclaimed. 

"  '  I  am  not  sure  that  it  is  anything,'  replied  Stella. 
'  We  cannot  be  certain.  But  if  that  really  is  a 
planet  its  name  is  Vulcan.' 

"  Surrounded  still  by  burning  radiance  of  light  and 
heat,  the  children  hovered  near  a  world  which  with 
great  speed  was  hurrying  round  the  sun — a  world 
small  indeed,  compared  with  the  enormous  globe  in 
the  centre. 

" '  This  is  Mercury,'  said  Stella.  '  Mercury  is 
only  about  three  thousand  miles  in  diameter — not 
much  bigger  than  the  Moon.' 

"  '  How  intensely  brilliant  is  the  side  of  Mercury 
towards  the  sun  ! '  said  Eikon.  '  Yet  Mercury  is 
not  so  bright,  seen  from  Earth,  as  some  other 
planets.' 

'"No;  for  Mercury  is  so  near  the  sun,  that  we 
never  can  see  him  in  hours  of  darkness.  Mercury  is 
only  visible  soon  after  sunset  or  just  before  sunrise. 
But  Mercury,  too,  has  a  dark  side.' 


230  Among  the  Stars. 

"  '  Yes,  so  I  see.  Beautiful  shining  Mercury.  But 
at  what  a  speed  he  travels  ! ' 

"  '  That  must  be,'  Stella  observed.  '  At  this  short 
distance,  the  sun  attracts  Mercury  with  such  great 
force,  that  the  planet  going  more  slowly  would  fall 
down  upon  the  sun,  and  be  destroyed.' 

"  '  Yet  we  do  not  seem  so  very  near  the  sun,'  said 
Eikon. 

"  '  Mercury  is  about  35  millions  of  miles  away, — 
scarcely  more  than  one-third  as  far  as  our  Earth.' 

"  '  And  Mercury  is  very  much  smaller  than  Earth.' 

" '  Nineteen  Mercuries  rolled  into  one  would  hardly 
make  a  world  as  large  as  Earth,'  said  Stella. 

"  '  I  see  that  Mercury  turns  upon  his  axis,  and 
that  the  axis  slants  like  that  of  Earth.' 

" '  Yes ;  Mercury's  day  is  much  the  same  in  length  as 
Earth's  day.  But  Mercury's  year  is  only  about  three 
of  our  months.  That  is  to  say,  Mercury  journeys 
once  round  the  sun  in  three  months,  instead  of  twelve 
months.  So  Mercury's  seasons  must  be  short  and 
quick  indeed, — spring,  summer,  autumn  and  winter, 
lasting  only  about  three  weeks  each." 

" '  Hardly  long  enough  for  enjoyment,'  said  EikOn. 
'Stella,  the  heat  on  Mercury  must  be  very  great. 
The  sun  appears  such  a  size  seen  from  this  distance. 

"'About  seven  times  the  size  of  the  sun  as  seen 


A  Sequel  to  the  ±>tory.  231 

from  Earth,'  replied  Stella.  '  Mercury's  pathway 
is  very  much  more  oval  than  ours,  and  his  distance 
from  the  sun  varies  more.  At  his  nearest,  Mercury 
has  ten  times  as  much  light  and  heat  as  any  part  of 
Earth  enjoys, — and  at  his  farthest,  not  seven  times 
as  much.  But  that  must  be  more  than  enough  for 
any  such  beings  as  man.'/' 

PART  III. 

"  The  children  spread  their  wings,  and  passed  on 
for  many  millions  of  miles  with  the  swift  flight  of 
light.  Presently  they  came  upon  another  world, 
larger  than  Mercury,  not  quite  so  rapid  in  move- 
ment, and  having  a  pathway  outside  that  of 
Mercury. 

"'This  is  Venus!'  Stella  said.  'A  far  more 
beautiful  sight  to  us  on  Earth  than  Mercury;  yet,  as 
you  may  now  see,  not  really  so  brilliant.  But  Venus 
is  nearer  to  earth  and  farther  from  the  sun,  and  may 
therefore  be  seen  in  hours  of  darkness.' 

"  The  soft  lustre  of  this  beautiful  world  made 
Eikon  think  of  the  evening  star  he  had  so  often 
watched  from  Earth — and  no  wonder,  since  Venus 
is  that  evening  star. 

"  He  could  see  that  Venus,  like  Mercury,  was 
placed  in  space  with  a  sloping  axis  as  regarded  the 


232  Among  the  Stars. 

sun;  also  that  she  turned  steadily  on  her  axis;  also 
that  she  passed  ever  round  the  sun  in  an  unmarked 
pathway.  No  moon  travelled  with  Venus. 

"  '  Some  call  Venus  the  twin-world  of  Earth,'  said 
Stella;  'for  the  two  are  nearly  the  same  in  size. 
Venus  is  only  a  little  the  smaller.  She  has  a  day 
of  about  the  same  length  as  Earth's  day;  while  her 
year  is  about  seven  and  a  half  of  our  months.  See 
how  much  her  north  pole  is  at  this  moment  bent 
over  towards  the  sun.  Venus'  axis  slopes  far  more 
than  Earth's  axis.  This  must  cause  much  more 
severe  changes  of  seasons  than  we  have  on  earth — 
at  least,  so  we  should  suppose.' 

"  Eikon  noted  that  with  Venus,  as  with  Mercury 
and  Earth,  the  side  towards  the  sun  shone  brightly, 
and  the  side  away  from  the  sun  was  in  shadow. 
Here,  too,  as  the  globe  kept  spinning  on  her  axis, 
each  part  in  turn  passed  through  light  or  day,  and 
darkness  or  night. 

" '  There  is  believed  to  be  an  atmosphere  on 
Venus, — perhaps  much  thicker  than  our  atmosphere 
on  Earth,"  said  Stella.  4  That  might  help  to  ward 
off  some  of  the  great  sun-heat  to  which  Venus  is  ex- 
posed,— not  so  great  as  the  heat  which  Mercury 
endures,  certainly,  but  far  beyond  what  we  feel  on 
Earth.' 


A   Sequel  to  the  Story.  233 

"  '  Venus  seems  to  draw  sometimes  very  near  to 
Earth,'  said  EikOn. 

"  '  Yes,  when  both  happen  to  be  on  the  same 
side  of  the  sun  together.  The  two  worlds  are  then 
about  23  millions  of  miles  apart.  When  Earth  is  on 
one  side  of  the  sun,  and  Venus  on  the  other,  they 
are  divided  by  more  than  160  millions  of  miles.' 

"  '  No  wonder  Venus  sometimes  looks  so  bright/ 
said  Eikon. 

"  '  Ah;  we  do  not  see  Venus  at  her  best  when  she 
is  nearest.  If  we  did,  she  would  be  a  splendid  sight 
indeed.  Venus'  path  in  the  heavens  lies  between 
Earth's  orbit  and  the  sun.  When  Venus  is  nearest 
to  us,  her  bright  side  is  turned  away,  and  only  her 
dark  side  is  towards  us;  so  we  cannot  see  her  at 
all,  except  with  a  very  powerful  telescope.  When 
she  is  at  her  farthest,  her  full  face  is  visible,  but  the 
great  distance  makes  her  look  smaller  and  less 
bright.' 

"'What  a  pity,'  said  Eikon. 

" '  Yes,  it  does  seem  a  pity.  Our  best  view  of 
Venus  is  between  these  two  extremes,  when,  seen 
from  Earth,  she  is  at  the  side  of  the  sun,  so  to  speak. 
We  can  then  see  only  half  of  her  bright  side — a  half 
Venus,  in  fact,  shaped  like  the  half-moon,  though 
this  is  not  clear  without  a  telescope.  If  anybody 
16 


234  Among  the  Stars. 

lives  on  Venus,  he  has  the  view  of  Earth  which  we 
can  never  have  of  Venus — a  fine  full  Earth,  at  the 
time  when  the  planets  are  nearest  together.' 

"'  That  must  be  very  beautiful/  said  Eikon. 

"  '  Note  one  thing  more  before  we  go,'  said  Stella. 
'You  see  that  Venus  is  a  partly  light  and  partly 
dark  body,  like  other  worlds.  If  you  examine  the 
line  where  light  fades  into  darkness,  you  may  see  it 
to  be  jagged  and  broken.  It  can  be  seen  thus  from 
Earth  through  a  good  telescope.' 

"  '  What  does  it  mean  ? '  asked  Eikon. 

"  '  The  jaggedness  is  believed  to  be  caused  by  very 
high  mountain  ranges.  Some  suppose  Venus  to  be 
perhaps  quite  covered  over  with  mountains,  far  lof- 
tier than  any  on  Earth.  But  this  is  hardly  a  settled 
fact.  We  will  now  pass  on  to  the  next  planet.' 

PART  IV. 

"  Again  they  sped  through  space  in  company,  and 
soon  they  were  hovering  over  another  globe,  much 
the  same  in  size  as  the  one  they  had  just  quitted. 

"  Like  Venus,  this  globe  turned  incessantly  upon 
her  axis.  Like  Venus,  this  globe  had  a  slanting 
axis,  only  less  slanting.  Like  Venus,  this  globe 
journeyed  steadily  round  the  sun.  Like  Venus,  this 
globe  had  its  darkened  side,  and  shone  brilliantly  on 


A   Sequel  to  the  Story.  235 

the  part  which  faced  the  sun.  Unlike  Venus,  this 
globe  was  accompanied  by  a  second  and  much 
smaller  world.  The  smaller  world  turned  very  slowly 
on  its  axis,  and  also  journeyed  round  the  great  Sun. 
But  in  addition  to  this  it  travelled  perpetually  round 
and  round  the  larger  world — not  in  loops,  with  that 
world  in  the  centre  of  each  loop,  but  in  gentle  curves 
backwards  and  forwards,  so  that  it  was  now  before, 
now  behind,  now  on  either  side  of  the  larger  world. 

"  '  Venus  is  distant  from  the  sun  about  66  millions 
of  miles,  but  these  worlds  are  distant  about  91 
millions  of  miles,'  said  Stella.  'Venus  travels  at 
a  rate  of  21  miles  each  second.  This  larger  world 
travels  18  miles  each  second.  See,  Eikon — this 
world  has  a  day  of  24  hours,  and  a  year  of  12 
months.' 

" '  Why,  it  must  be  our  own  Earth  with  the 
Moon,'  exclaimed  Eikon  joyously.  'I  had  no  idea 
we  were  so  near  home.  What  a  beautiful  planet! 
I  should  not  have  known  it  again.  Ah  ! — there  is 
the  snowy  cap  at  the  North  Pole.  I  see  cloudy 
markings  also  here  and  there.' 

PART  V. 

"Moving  further  onward,  the  two  came  next  upon 
a  smaller  world,  travelling  in  an  orbit  which  lay 


236  Among  the  Stars. 

quite  outside  that  of  Earth — just  as  a  large  hoop 
laid  on  the  ground  will  surround  a  smaller  hoop  laid 
within  it. 

"The  planet,  which  they  had  now  reached,  turned, 
like  the  others,  upon  its  axis,  and  travelled  always 
round  the  sun.  Also,  it  had  its  bright  and  its  dark  side. 
The  bright  side  shone  with  a  red  glow,  and  greenish 
tints  might  here  and  there  be  seen  amid  the  red- 
ness. At  the  north  and  south  poles,  white  patches, 
as  of  snow,  were  visible. 

'"This  little  world  is  Mars,'  said  Stella.  'Its 
diameter  is  nearly  five  thousand  miles — above  half 
that  of  Earth.  Mars  has  a  day  about  as  long  as 
Earth's  day,  and  a  year  almost  as  long  as  two  of  our 
years.  It  journeys  at  the  pace  of  fourteen  miles  and 
a  half  each  second.' 

"  '  Scarcely  half  so  fast  as  Mercury,'  said  Eikon. 

"  '  Well,  no.  But  even  14^  miles  a  second  means 
870  miles  a  minute.  That  is  not  slow,'  Stella  said, 
smiling.  '  We  count  60  miles  an  hour  extremely 
fast  travelling  on  Earth.' 

"  '  The  years  seem  to  grow  longer,  and  the  speed 
to  become  less,  as  we  go  farther  and  farther  from  the 
sun,'  said  Eikon. 

"  '  Naturally,'  replied  Stella.  '  A  planet's  "  year  " 
means  the  time  which  it  takes  to  journey  once 


A   Sequel  to  the  Story.  237 

round  the  sun:  and  the  farther  each  planet  is  from 
the  sun,  the  longer  must  that  planet's  pathway  be. 
Besides,  the  more  distant  a  planet  is,  the  more 
slowly  it  has  to  travel,  since  the  sun's  power  of  at- 
traction becomes  less,  and  therefore  less  speed  is 
needed  to  overcome  that  attraction.' 

"  '  It  seems  very  wonderful  how  one  thing  fits 
exactly  in  with  another,'  said  Eikon. 

"  '  God  has  willed  it  all,'  she  said  simply.  '  The 
wonder  is  great,  certainly — but  perhaps  it  would  be 
greater  if  things  did  not  so  fit  in.  God's  power  is 
enough  for  much  more  than  this.' 

"  '  O  surely  I  see  a  tiny  moon  near  Mars  ! '  Eikon 
suddenly  exclaimed. 

"  '  Look  carefully,  and  you  will  see  two  moons, 
said  Stella.  '  They  are  so  very  small  as  to  have 
been  long  undiscovered.  We  call  them  Deimos 
and  Phobos.' 

'"And  as  I  look  closely,  what  curious  markings 
there  are,  all  over  the  body  of  Mars  ! '  continued 
Eikon.  '  Almost  like  the  markings  on  a  large  map 
of  our  own  world,  seen  in  hazy  light  or  at  a 
distance — only  here  the  outlines  are  differently 
arranged,  and  are  greenish  and  reddish  in  tint 
Can  those  be  lands  and  seas  ? ' 

"  '  That  is  what  we  suppose,'  said  Stella. 


238  Among  the  Stars. 


PART  VI. 

" '  Now,'  she  continued,  '  we  have  seen  the  four 
inner  and  smaller  worlds,  of  which  our  own  Earth  is 
one.  Follow  me,  and  see  what  comes  next.  But 
first — ,'  and  she  paused,  '  I  should  tell  you  that  the 
distance  of  Mars  from  the  sun  is  about  140  millions 
of  miles.  The  next  planet  of  importance,  Jupiter, 
is  about  475  millions  of  miles  distant.  Between  the 
two  there  is,  as  you  see,  an  enormous  gap.  We  will 
examine  what  this  gap  contains.' 

"A  wide  space  had  first  to  be  passed,  entirely 
void  of  planets.  Eikon  looked  to  right  and  left  in 
vain.  Of  planets  there  were  none  to  be  seen.  Noth- 
ing broke  the  great  solitude,  save  here  and  there 
a  little  passing  meteorite,  shining  in  the  rays  of  the 
sun — rays  not  so  bright  here  as  on  earth,  owing  to 
increased  distance. 

"  All  at  once  EikSn  found  himself  hovering  over  a 
belt  or  family  of  small  planets,  journeying  round  the 
sun  in  company. 

"This,  however,  by  no  means  implies  real  nearness 
on  the  part  of  the  small  planets.  Two  or  three  hun- 
dred little  worlds,  scattered  over  a  pathway  about 
one  hundred  million  miles  wide  and  of  enormous 


A   Segue t  to  the  Story.  239 

length,  certainly  does  not  mean  that  any  two  of 
them  were  close  together. 

"  Stella  led  Eikon  in  swift  flight  across  the  great 
breadth  of  the  zone,  and  around  some  portion  of  the 
whole  orbit.  And  as  they  went,  they  came  upon 
here  one  little  lonely  world,  and  there  another,  and 
further  on  a  third;  the  largest  being  small,  and  the 
smallest  very  small. 

"  These  tiny  worlds,  scattered  in  space,  seemed 
like  a  group  of  tiny  islets  in  a  great  sea;  while 
the  larger  planets  were  perhaps  rather  more 
like  distant  continents,  separated  by  the  broad 
ocean. 

"  '  I  have  counted  between  one  and  two  hundred,* 
Eikon  said  presently,  'and  each  little  world  has,  I 
see,  like  other  planets,  its  bright  and  its  dark  side, 
and  throws  its  shadow  into  space.' 

"  '  More  than  two  hundred  and  thirty  are  known 
to  us  now,'  said  Stella.  '  But  fresh  Planetoids  are 
still  often  discovered.  There  may,  for  aught  we 
know,  be  many  hundreds  of  them.  See,  this  is 
Vesta,  the  brightest  of  the  whole  group  as  seen 
from  Earth.' 

"  '  A  very  small  world  ! '  Eikon  said  musingly. 

"  '  Vesta  is  about  three  hundred  miles  in  diameter. 
You  would  need  some  eighteen  thousand  Vestas  to 


240  Among  the  Stars. 

make  one  ball  as  large  as  Earth.  Yonder  is  Ceres. 
I  cannot  tell  you  the  exact  size  of  Ceres,  but  most 
likely  it  is  about  the  same  as  Vesta.  Ceres  was  the 
first  found  of  all  the  Planetoids.  Now,  Eikon,  we 
will  leave  these  little  planets,  and  pass  onward.' 

PART  VII. 

"Another  wide  and  empty  space  had  to  be  crossed, 
Stella,  as  usual,  leading  the  way.  After  leaving  the 
last  Planetoid,  some  seventy-five  millions  of  miles  lay 
before  them,  unbroken  by  a  single  world.  But  on 
Wings  of  Imagination  this  great  journey  was  quickly 
over. 

"  Then  the  little  voyagers  found  themselves  draw- 
ing near  to  a  magnificent  sight. 

"  A  mighty  planet  became  visible,  spinning  rap- 
idly, and  journeying  in  a  wide  sweep  round  the  far 
distant  sun.  And  travelling  both  around  and  with 
this  great  world  were  four  small  shining  worlds. 
And  on  the  body  of  the  chief  globe  were  beautiful 
tints,  and  bands  or  belts  of  many  hues. 

"  'What  a  perfectly  marvellous  group ! '  murmured 
Eikon. 

"  '  This  is  the  giant  planet  of  our  Sun's  family,' 
said  Stella.  '  Twelve  hundred  Earths  would  make 
only  one  globe  as  large  as  Jupiter  appears  to  us.  Of 


A   Sequel  to  the  Story.  241 

the  four  moons,  one  is  smaller  than  our  moon:  the 
other  three  are  all  larger.1 

"  'Marvellous  ! '  repeated  Eikon.  '  And  this  great 
Jupiter  too,  I  see,  turns  upon  his  axis.' 

"'Not  only  turns,  but  turns  very  rapidly,'  said 
Stella.  '  Jupiter's  whole  day  lasts  ten  hours, 
instead  of  twenty-four.  That  means  five  hours  of 
light,  and  five  of  darkness.  A  brief  working  day, 
according  to  our  ideas.' 

"  '  People  would  not  be  so  tired  by  the  evening,' 
said  Eikon.  '  Stella,  I  don't  think  Jupiter  seems  to 
whirl  along  on  his  orbit  so  fast  as  even  Mars.' 

"'There  is  no  need.  Jupiter  is  not  only  much 
larger  and  heavier  than  Mars,  but  also  much  farther 
from  the  sun.  At  this  distance  eight  miles  a  second 
is  speed  enough  to  balance  the  sun's  attraction. 
However,  eight  miles  a  second  still  means  nearly  five 
hundred  miles  a  minute — not  so  very  slow,  after  all ! ' 

"  '  And  Jupiter's  year  ? '  questioned  Eikon. 

"  'Jupiter's  year  is  equal  to  twelve  of  our  earthly 
years.  Think  what  the  length  of  his  journey  round 
the  sun  must  be,  Eikon !  A  journey  twelve  years 
long,  with  a  speed  of  five  hundred  miles  a  minute.' 

"  Eikon  shook  his  head.  '  I  cannot  think  it,'  he 
said.  '  Even  on  these  wings,  Stella,  I  can  see  but  a 
little  of  that  pathway.  It  is  truly  most  wonderfuL 


242  Among  the  Stars. 

"'You  may  notice  something  else,'  Stella  said; 
'  and  that  is  the  position  of  Jupiter's  axis.  It  does 
not  slant  like  Earth's  axis,  but  is  placed  nearly 
upright — pointing,  as  we  should  say,  almost  exactly 
"north"  and  "south."  That  means  nearly  equal  days 
and  nights  all  over  Jupiter  and  all  through  the  year. 
Nights  five  hours  long,  and  days  five  hours  long, 
whether  at  the  Poles  or  on  the  Equator.' 

"  '  Has  Jupiter  also  an  Equator  ? '  asked  Eikon. 

"  '  Certainly.  That  line  round  the  globe,  which 
we  call  the  Equator  on  Earth,  may  just  as  well  be 
called  the  Equator  on  Jupiter.' 

" '  How  very  small  and  dim  the  sun  looks  from 
here,'  said  Eikon,  with  a  shiver.  '  The  inhabitants 
of  Jupiter  must  be  strangely  cold.' 

" '  I  am  not  so  sure.  If  there  were  people  on 
Jupiter,  they  would  perhaps  be  a  great  deal  too  hot,' 
said  Stella,  smiling. 

"  '  Really? '  asked  Eikon,  in  surprise. 

" '  Come  a  little  closer,  and  look  more  carefully,' 
said  Stella. 

"As  they  approached,  Eikon's  attention  was  much 
drawn  to  the  dark  and  light  belts  lying  across  the 
surface  of  Jupiter.  Some  were  dull,  some  ruddy, 
others  grey  or  bluish,  pearly  or  yellowish-white. 
Gradually  he  saw  that  these  bands  of  colour  were 


A   Sequel  tc  the  Story.  243 

not  fixed,  but  that  slow  movements  were  taking  place 
in  them.  Shapes  and  tints  changed;  and  bridges  of 
grey  were  formed  across  one  band  from  those  on 
either  side  of  it;  and  these  bridges,  once  formed, 
presently  vanished  again. 

"  '  Surely  there  must  be  a  good  deal  of  disturbance 
on  Jupiter,'  said  Eikon. 

"  '  It  seems  so,  indeed,'  replied  Stella.  '  If  those 
are,  as  we  believe,  vast  cloud-belts,  the  storms  which 
sweep  over  the  planet  must  be  tremendous.  I  do 
not  suppose,  Eikon,  that  we  ever  obtain  a  glimpse  of 
the  actual  planet.  Jupiter  appears  to  be  a  world  quite 
enwrapped  in  enormous  masses  of  cloud  or  vapour/ 

"  '  As  the  sun  is  enwrapped  in  an  envelope  of  fire  ? 
asked  Eikon. 

"'Even  so,'  she  answered.  'Jupiter  was  no 
doubt  once  upon  a  time  folded  in  a  sea  of  fiery 
flames.  But  Jupiter  now  is  long  past  the  flaming 
stage  of  star  or  planet  life.  Whether  he  has  reached 
the  same  stage  as  Earth  and  other  small  planets,  is 
another  question.' 

"  '  If  those  are  really  cloud-masses  which  we  see, 
the  actual  size  of  the  real  planet  maybe  smaller  than 
one  would  suppose,'  said  Eikon. 

"'No  doubt,'  replied  Stella.  'That  is  all  the 
more  likely,  because  we  know  the  weight  of  Jupiter 


244  Among  the  Stars. 

to  be  much  less  than  we  should  expect  from  his 
seeming  size.' 

"  '  But  what  an  extraordinary  thing  that  such  an 
enormous  thickness  of  clouds  should  always  cover 
the  planet ! '  exclaimed  Eikon.  '  What  can  be  the 
cause  ? ' 

" '  It  is  most  extraordinary- — especially  when  we 
think  of  the  small  power  of  the  sun  here.  Some 
source  of  great  heat  there  must  certainly  be,  to  draw 
or  to  drive  up  such  tremendous  masses  of  vapour, 
and  to  keep  them  floating  above  the  planet.' 

"  Eikon  looked  towards  the  small  distant  sun,  and 
said,  '  It  cannot  surely  be  sun-heat  only.' 

"  '  What  if  Jupiter  is  not  yet  cooled  ? '  asked  Stella 
softly.  '  What  if  we  are  now  looking  upon  a  red- 
hot  world — not  indeed  a  world  of  flames,  yet  still  far 
too  heated  for  water  to  lie  in  seas  and  oceans  on  its 
surface  ?  Then  of  course  the  waters  must  float  above, 
in  the  form  of  clouds." 

"  '  Certainly,  in  that  case  nobody  could  live  upon 
Jupiter,'  said  Eikon. 

" '  Nobody,  at  all  events,  like  ourselves,  and  no 
animals  like  those  on  Earth.  Perhaps,  instead  of 
being  on  Jupiter,  there  may  be  living  creatures  on 
Jupiter's  little  companion-worlds — his  "moons "as 
we  call  them.' 


A  Sequel  to  the  Story.  245 

"  '  Can  that  be  ? '  inquired  Eikon. 

" '  I  do  not  say  that  it  is  so.  We  cannot 
possibly  know.  The  idea  has,  however,  been  put 
forward,  and  it  does  not  seem  quite  impossible.  A 
red-hot  Jupiter,  so  large  and  near  at  hand,  might 
well  supply  abundance  of  light  and  heat  to  living 
creatures  on  those  "moons,"  in  addition  to  what 
they  would  receive  from  the  sun.  This  is  of  course 
only  a  guess;  but  it  may  be  true.' 

"  'Then  Jupiter  would  be  a  half-sun,  half-planet,' 
said  Eikon. 

"  'A  kind  of  secondary  sun  to  his  companion-worlds, 
yet  a  planet  in  himself,'  said  Stella.  '  We  must 
not  remain  here  too  long,  Eikon.  Come,  I  have 
a  yet  more  beautiful  sight  to  show  you.' 

PART  VIII. 

"  Already  they  were  five  times  as  far  away  from 
the  sun  as  when  on  Earth.  But  now  a  space  almost 
as  broad  as  the  whole  which  they  had  already  trav- 
ersed lay  before  them. 

"Jupiter  is  more  than  450  millions  of  miles  away 
from  the  sun.  Another  400  millions  of  miles,  un- 
broken by  a  single  planet,  had  to  be  traversed  before 
the  nearest  part  of  the  orbit  of  Saturn  could  ba 


246  Among  the  Stars. 

reached.  And  Saturn  lay  by  no  means  at  siat 
nearest  point. 

"  Travelling  was  now  no  longer,  as  at  first,  through 
a  flood  of  white  and  dazzling  radiance.  There  was 
indeed  still  ample  light  for  human  eyes,  and  the  sun 
still  shone  with  an  intense  glow;  but  he  had  grown 
small  in  seeming  size.  And  the  surrounding  bright- 
ness was  but  as  twilight,  when  compared  with  the 
overpowering  glare  which  had  surrounded  them  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Mercury. 

"  More  than  850  millions  of  miles  away  from  the 
sun,  they  came  at  last  upon  another  great  world. 
This  fair  planet  was  only  a  little  smaller  than  Jupiter; 
and,  like  Jupiter,  it  had  most  beautiful  tints  and 
bands.  It,  too,  whirled  rapidly  on  its  axis,  in  a  full 
day  of  about  ten  hours.  But  unlike  Jupiter  it  had  a 
very  sloping  axis. 

"The  sun  now  looked  extremely  small,  not 
more  than  one-hundredth  part  as  large  as  the  bright 
sun  seen  from  Earth. 

"About  this  delicately-coloured  orb,  named  Sat- 
urn, clustered  no  less  than  eight  moons  or  small  plan- 
ets, at  different  distances.  These,  travelling  ever 
round  the  great  planet,  went  always  with  him  in  his 
long  journey  round  the  sun,  just  as  our  moon  goes 
always  with  Earth  in  her  journey.  But  the  length 


A   Sequel  to  the  Story.  247 

of  Saturn's  yearly  tour  is  almost  as  much  as  thirty 
earthly  years. 

"  In  addition  to  these  moons  was  something  else, 
far  more  rare  and  lovely. 

"  Round  the  body  of  Saturn,  and  exactly  over  that 
part  which  we  should  call  Saturn's  Equator,  was  a 
wonderful  ring  of  light. 

"  As  Eikon  looked,  in  silent  amazement,  he  gradu- 
ally saw  that  not  one  ring  only,  but  two  distinct 
rings,  divided  by  a  gap,  surrounded  Saturn.  One 
of  these  was  very  bright.  Outside  that  was  another 
of  more  greyish  hue.  Presently  he  perceived  also  an 
inner  and  third  ring,  within  the  brightest,  dusky  in 
colour,  and  so  slight  in  texture  as  to  be  transparent. 

"These  rings,  seen  one  way,  were  very  slender; 
not  much  more  than  a  hundred  miles  in  thickness. 
A  man  standing  upon  Saturn's  Equator,  exactly 
under  the  rings,  and  looking  up,  would  be  able  to 
see  only  a  narrow  edge  or  line  above  him  in  the  sky, 
if,  indeed,  he  could  see  it  at  all. 

"  But  while  the  thickness  of  the  rings  was  so  slight, 
their  breadth  between  that  inner  edge  and  the  far 
distant  outer  edge  was  something  quite  enormous. 
For,  while  the  inside  rim  of  the  inside  transparent 
ring  was  only  about  ten  thousand  miles  above  the 
surface  of  Saturn,  the  outside  rim  of  the  outside 


248  Among  the  Stars. 

greyish  ring  was  nearly  fifty  thousand  miles 
away. 

"'What  can  these  marvellous  rings  be? 'Eikon 
asked  of  Stella. 

"  '  I  cannot  tell  you,  with  certainty,'  she  answered. 
*  They  are  very  likely  formed  of  countless  millions 
of  meteorites,  always  whirling  round  the  planet,  and 
shining  in  the  sun's  light.  So,  at  least,  some  suppose. 
Others  think  they  may  be  immense  numbers  of  very 
small  satellites — "moons"  we  may  call  them.' 

"  '  Extraordinary  ! '  murmured  Eikon. 

"  '  Come  with  me  to  a  position  exactly  over  the 
uppermost  ring,'  said  Stella,  spreading  her  wings. 
'  Now  look  down  and  see  what  a  mere  edge  is  visible. 
Yet  if  we  pass  towards  the  north  or  south  of  the 
planet,  what  a  breadth  of  surface  we  see  in  the  rings, 
reaching  outwards  from  Saturn.' 

"  '  What  a  lovely  world  Saturn  must  be  to  live  on  ! ' 
cried  Eikon. 

"  '  I  am  not  so  sure,'  replied  Stella,  with  a  half- 
smile.  '  Those  rings  are  wonderful,  certainly.  But 
note  what  a  shadow  they  cast  on  the  body  of  Saturn. 
That  shadow  of  the  rings  must  entirely  hide  the  sun 
from  large  portions  of  Saturn  during  months,  and 
even  years,  at  a  stretch.  Such  prolonged  eclipses 
would  be  very  uncomfortable,  to  say  the  least.' 


A   Sequel  to  the  Story.  249 

"  '  I  did  not  think  of  that,'  said  Eikon.  '  To  be 
sure,  the  rings  do  only  seem  to  shine  on  that  side 
which  is  towards  the  sun.  O  yes — and  I  see  quite 
plainly  the  ring-shadow  thrown  upon  Saturn.' 

"'That  would  be  a  disadvantage,'  repeated  Stella. 
'  Besides,  it  seems  probable  that  Saturn,  like  Jupiter, 
is  quite  enwrapped  in  clouds.  The  actual  Saturn 
within  those  clouds  may  be  a  good  deal  smaller  than 
we  suppose,  and  may  also  be  in  an  extremely  heated 
condition  still.' 

"  *  Then,  of  course,  no  one  could  well  live  upon 
Saturn,'  said  Eikon  slowly.  '  But  the  moons,'  he 
added;  'Stella,  what  of  the  eight  moons  ?' 

"  '  Ah,  that  may  be,'  she  answered.  '  Saturn, 
with  his  beautiful  rings,  might  form  a  very  delightful 
secondary  sun  to  those  eight  small  worlds.  But  we 
do  not  know  that  this  is  the  case,  Eikon.' 

"  '  I  should  think  it  very  likely,' said  Eikon  wistfully. 
'  If  only  one  could  be  quite  sure  of  everything,  Stella ! ' 

"  Stella  shook  her  head  and  smiled  again,  at  this 
sign  of  childish  impatience. 

PART  IX. 

" '  Eikon,   we  have   come  a   long  way,'  she  said. 
'  Are  you  weary  ? ' 

"  '  My  wings  are  getting  tired/  confessed  Eikon. 


25°  Among  the  Stars. 

'  But  do  not  let  us  give  up  yet.  I  have  not  seen  all 
the  Solar  System.' 

*' '  We  have  journeyed  now  nearly  ten  times  as  far 
from  the  sun  as  our  own  earth,'  said  Stella.  '  Are 
you  prepared  to  go  as  much  as  the  whole  of  that 
great  distance  over  again  before  reaching  the  orbit 
of  Uranus  ? ' 

"  '  So  much  ! '  said  Eikon,  astonished. 

" '  Uranus  is  quite  double  the  distance  of  Saturn 
from  the  sun — twenty  times  as  far  as  Earth.' 

"  '  Well — we  will  go,'  said  Eikon  resolutely.  '  I 
do  not  wish  to  be  beaten  now.' 

"  Then,  with  labouring  though  still  rapid  flight, 
they  passed  onward  through  these  dreary  extents  of 
space.  All  around  was  empty  space — empty,  at 
least,  to  human  eyes  and  ears — space,  unbroken  by 
the  presence  of  a  single  planet;  space,  unlightened 
save  by  the  glittering  stars,  and  by  one  distant  tiny 
sun,  shining  intensely  still,  yet  with  ever-lessening 
power;  space,  cold,  forlorn,  and  desolate.  Some 
comets  and  many  meteorites  they  might,  no  doubt, 
have  seen  on  their  way;  but  the  children's  wings 
were  growing  weary,  and  attention  flagged. 

" '  The  year  of  Uranus  is  eighty-four  of  our  earthly 
years,'  said  Stella,  as  they  went.  '  A  man  who 
should  be  eighty-four  years  old  on  earth,  would,  on 


A   Sequel  to  the  Story.  251 

Uranus,  have  just  completed  his  first  year.  I  did  not 
tell  you  the  speed  of  Saturn,  which  is  only  five  miles 
each  second.  Uranus  journeys  at  the  rate  of  four 
miles,  and  Neptune  at  the  rate  of  three  miles  each 
second.  A  change,  indeed,  from  Mercury's  whirling 
flight.  But  the  pull  of  the  sun's  attraction  is  greatly 
lessened  here.' 

" '  We  seem  passing  into  dusk,'  remarked  Eikon. 
*  The  sun  is  strangely  brilliant  still;  but  his  rays 
have  little  power.' 

"  '  The  sun  is  still  the  great  centre,  Eikon.  Ura- 
nus and  Neptune  are  held  captive  by  him,  no  less 
than  Mercury  and  Venus.' 

"  Presently  they  came  upon  another  world,  not 
nearly  so  large  as  Saturn,  yet  very  much  larger  than 
Earth.  This  world  travelled  on  his  lonely  pathway, 
at  a  distance  from  the  sun  of  some  1,700  millions  of 
miles.  So  Stella  told  Eikon.  Four  moons  accom- 
panied Uranus  in  his  journey  round  the  sun. 

"  '  I  would  not  live  here,'  murmured  Eikon. 

PART  X. 

" '  I  have  only  one  more  world  to  show  you/ 
Stella  said.  '  Eikdn,  shall  we  rest  satisfied  and  turn 
homewards  ? ' 

"  Eikon  shook  his  head. 


252  Among  the  Stars. 

"* Think,'  she  urged;  'the  way  is  long,  and  our 
wings  are  failing  us.  Jupiter  was  five  times  as  far 
from  the  sun  as  Earth.  Saturn  was  nearly  twice  as 
far  as  Jupiter.  Uranus  is  twice  as  far  as  Saturn. 
Neptune  will  be  not  very  much  less  than  twice  as  far 
as  Uranus.' 

"  But  Eikon  would  not  give  up.  With  toiling  wings 
ind  tired  imaginations,  they  still  pressed  onward; 
and  this  last  great  breadth  of  darkening  space  was 
crossed. 

"  At  length  they  were  near  enough  to  see  another 
lonely  world,  slightly  larger  than  Uranus,  rolling  on 
his  dreary  course  through  untracked  space.  Eikon 
caught  a  glimpse  of  one  faint  moon,  journeying  side 
by  side  with  the  large  planet.  The  sun  now  showed 
as  scarcely  more  than  a  very  brilliant  and  dazzling 
star. 

"  '  About  one  hundred  Earths  would  make  a  planet 
as  large  as  Neptune,'  Stella's  voice  said.  '  Neptune's 
year  is  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  of  our  earthly 
years.  See  how  small  the  sun  has  grown,  Eikon,— 
yet  he  controls  still  the  movements  of  Neptune.' 

"  '  And  what  comes  next  ? '  asked  the  boy,  in  awe- 
struck tones.  '  After  Neptune — what  next  ? ' 

"  '  Next  !  The  stars,'  she  said.  '  We  know  of 
no  planets  beyond  Neptune.' 


A   Sequel  to  the  Story.  253 

"  Eikon  gazed  about  at  the  radiant  points  of  light 
which  shone  around — above,  below,  and  on  every 
side — as  he  floated  with  Stella  in  silent  space. 
1  Which  is  the  nearest  star  of  all  ? '  he  asked. 
'  Could  we  not  visit  one  star,  before  we  go  home  ? ' 

" '  What !  when  your  wings  are  already  weary ! 
she   said.     '  Eikon,  the  whole   distance  which  we 
have  already  come  is  but  a  step  on  the  way  to  the 
nearest  star.     Are  you  prepared  to  repeat  this  great 
journey  more  than  seven  thousand  times  ? ' 

"Eikon  made  a  sign  of  dissent. 

"  '  But  between  us  and  the  nearest  star  !  "  he  said; 
'  what  lies  between,  dear  Stella  ? ' 

"  '  I  do  not  know,'  she  replied.  '  A  passing  comet 
here  or  there,  perhaps.  Some  comets  do  come,  it  is 
said,  from  distant  stars,  to  visit  our  sun.  Nothing 
else  is  there,  so  far  as  we  are  aware,  except  space 
and  darkness.' 

"  '  Darkness  all  the  way  !     No  sun-light,  Stella  ?  * 

"'The  stars  are  suns,'  said  Stella.  'But  they 
are  very  far  away.  The  nearest  is  our  own  sun. 
The  next  nearest  is  more  than  seven  thousand  times 
more  distant.  There  must  be  between  a  great  gap 
of  darkness  and  emptiness — to  human  eyes  and  ears. 
It  is  not  darkness  to  God,  Eikon,'  she  added  softly. 
'  It  is  not  emptiness  to  Him.  I  do  not  suppose  it 


254  Among  the  Stars. 

is  darkness  or  emptiness  to  His  angels.  There  may 
be  many  a  sight  there  which  our  eyes  could  not  see, 
and  many  a  sound  which  our  ears  could  not  hear.' 

"  '  But,  oh  Stella !  it  is  too  forlorn,  too  dreary ! ' 
cried  the  boy.  '  I  cannot  stay  in  these  desolate 
wastes.  Oh,  let  us  go  home  !  Take  me  back  to  the 
regions  of  warm  sunshine  ! ' 

"  And  even  as  he  spoke  the  lonely  planet  faded 
from  sight;  the  glittering  stars  vanished.  He  had 
one  glimpse  of  a  parting  smile  from  Stella.  Then  a 
blaze  of  summer  sunshine  was  about  him  once  more; 
and  birds  sang  gleefully  on  every  side.  Eikon's 
dream  was  ended." 


r 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

WHAT  MIGHT  HAVE  BEEN  SEEN. 

"  OH,  I  wish — I  wish  he  hadn't  ended  in  such  a 
dreadful  hurry,"  cried  Ikon.  "  I  do  like  that  dream. 
And  I  did  so  want  them  to  go  from  Neptune  to  a 
real  star.  Why  couldn't  they  ? " 

"I  do  not  think  you  quite  understand  how  far 
distant  the  real  stars  are,"  said  Fritz. 

"  O  yes,  I  do ! "  replied  Ikon,  in  a  rather  injured 
tone.  "  Of  course  I  do,  because  Herr  Lehrer  told 
me.  If  our  earth  was  only  four  inches  off  from  the 
sun,  the  nearest  fixed  star  would  be  fourteen  miles 
off.  There,  Mr.  Fritz  !  " 

"  Not  badly  answered,"  said  Fritz. 

"  But  couldn't  Eikon  and  Stella  have  gone  ? " 

"  Hardly,"  said  Fritz.  "  Their  wings  were  tired. 
And  I  am  tired  of  reading." 

"  I'm  sure  you  must  be  tired,  because  that  was  such 
a  great  long  dream.  It  has  been  so  very  very  good 


256  Among  the  Stars. 

of  you,  to  write  such  a  lot  for  me,"  said  Ikon  grate- 
fully. "  I  can't  thank  you  enough, — not  nearly.  I 
do  wish  you  weren't  going  away  !  " 

"  I  shall  not  be  gone  many  months,"  said  Fritz. 
"And  you  won't  mind,  because  somebody  else  is 
coming." 

"  Somebody  else  !     Who  ?  "  asked  Ikon. 

"  Ah  !— that  is  the  question." 

"  Not  my  Professor  ? "  cried  Ikon. 

"  No,  not  Herr  Lehrer.  You  must  not  ask  who 
it  is." 

"  Well— I  won't,"  said  Ikon,  sighing.  "  Though  I 
do  want  tremendously  to  know.  I'll  only  try  to 
guess.  But  I  don't  think  there's  anybody  else  I 
know,  so  it  must  be  a  stranger.  O  Mr.  Fritz,  do 
please  just  tell  me  what  Eikon  and  Stella  would  have 
seen  if  they  had  gone  on  to  the  nearest  star." 

"  They  would  first  have  gone  a  long  long  way 
through  darkness,"  said  Fritz  slowly.  "  Darkness — 
except  for  the  light  of  all  the  stars." 

"  And  the  sun  and  moon,"  said  Ikon. 

"  The  sun  would  be  merely  one  star  among  others; 
and  the  moon  would  be  quite  invisible  at  that  dis- 
tance. You  forget  that  we  are  talking  of  far-off 
space,  beyond  Neptune." 

"  Would  the  stars  look  as  bright  there  as  here  ?" 


What  might  have  been  seen.  257 

"  Much  brighter,  for  there  would  be  no  air  to  dim 
them." 

"  Oh,  then  they  would  shine  and  wouldn't  twinkle; 
like  when  Eikon  saw  them  from  on  the  moon,"  said 
Ikon. 

"  Exactly  so.  But  out  in  space,  where  we  suppose 
the  children  to  be,  they  would  see  stars  all  round,  in 
every  direction — above  and  below  too." 

"  It  seems  so  funny  to  think  of  standing  on  nothing, 
and  there  being  really  no  up  and  down,"  said  Ikon 
thoughtfully. 

"  I  don't  say  there  is  really  no  up  and  down  out  in 
space,  Ikon.  I  only  say  we  do  not  know  that  there 
is — beyond  what  we  on  our  little  world  choose  to 
call  '  north '  and  '  south.' " 

"  Please  go  on  and  tell  me  what  the  children  would 
see,"  entreated  Ikon. 

"  They  would  have  an  immensely  long  journey," 
said  Fritz.  "  On  and  on  and  on  through  space,  with 
distant  stars  always  shining  steadily  on  every  side. 
And  by-and-by,  as  they  came  a  little  nearer  the  star 
to  which  they  were  going,  they  would  pass  into  just 
a  little  more  light.  This  light  would  grow  and  grow. 
The  star,  too,  would  become  bigger  and  brighter,  first 
like  our  sun  seen  from  Neptune,  then  like  our  sun 
seen  from  Uranus,  then  from  Saturn,  then  from 


258  Among  the  Stars. 

Jupiter,  and  so  on.  They  would  gradually  pass  into 
another  blaze  of  light  and  heat,  such  as  the  planets 
near  our  sun  enjoy." 

"Wouldn't  there  be  any  more  planets?"  asked 
Ikon. 

"Very  probably.  We  cannot  from  earth  see  planets 
at  such  a  distance.  A  planet  only  shines,  as  a  rule, 
by  borrowed  light;  and  that  is  too  dim  to  reach  our 
eyes.  So  of  course  one  cannot  speak  with  certainty. 
But  it  is  most  likely  that  many  of  the  stars  have 
their  own  families  of  worlds,  just  like  our  sun." 

"  And  comets  too — and  little  meteorites  ? "  asked 
Ikon. 

"  Probably,"  repeated  Fritz. 

"Mr.  Fritz,"  said  Ikon,  "somebody  was  talking 
one  day  about  a  meteor.  Is  that  the  same  as  a 
meteorite  ? " 

"  A  meteorite  means  a  little  meteor,"  said  Fritz. 
"  Meteors  shine  brightly  and  pass  quickly  away,  as 
meteorites  do." 

"  Then  meteors  are  shooting-stars  too,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Meteors  are  generally  too  big  to  be  called 
•stars,'  said  Fritz.  "There  was  rather  a  fine  one 
seen  here  lately;  and  I  dare  say  that  was  how  you 
heard  them  talked  about.  I  was  walking  on  the 
Downs  with  a  friend,  and  had  a  good  view  of  it." 


What  might  have  been  seen.  259 

"  Do  tell  me  what  it  was  like,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Well — it  was  much  larger  than  a  common  shoot- 
ing-star," said  Fritz.  "  And  it  did  not  go  so  fast,  or 
die  out  so  rapidly.  It  seemed  to  leave  quite  a  trail 
of  light  in  the  sky.  Sometimes  meteors  are  seen  to 
explode  with  a  noise.  However,  they  are  not  nearly 
so  common  as  meteorites." 

"  They  aren't  like  the  real  stars — I  mean,  they  are 
not  suns"  said  Ikon,  half  questioningly. 

"  Certainly  not.  We  don't  know  much  about 
the  real  nature  of  meteors;  but,  at  all  events,  they 
are  not  suns.  If  a  real  star  came  so  near  our 
earth  as  the  meteors  come,  the  earth  would  be 
burnt  up." 

1 '  Would  Eikon  have  seen  meteors  as  well  as  meteor- 
ites, if  he  had  gone  on  ? "  inquired  Ikon. 

"  Not  meteors  aflame,  Ikon.  They  probably  catch 
fire,  like  the  meteorites,  passing  through  our  atmo- 
sphere." 

"  I  do  wish  Eikon  had  gone  on  and  seen  it  all." 

"  I  think  you  are  a  little  boy  who  is  never  satisfied," 
said  Fritz. 

"  O  yes,  I'm  quite  satisfied,"  cried  Ikon.  "  It  has 
been  so  delicious.  O  Mr.  Fritz,  do  please  tell  me 
something.  There  were  such  lots  in  the  dream 
about  attraction,  and  I  couldn't  understand,  and  I 


260  Among  the  Stars. 

was  afraid  to  speak,  because  you  don't  like  me  to 
interrupt." 

"  Well — you  may  speak  now,"  said  Fritz.  "  Didn't 
I  explain  to  you  one  day  about  gravitation  ? " 

"O  yes — gravitation  and  attraction.  I  haven't 
forgotten  all  that,"  said  Ikon.  "  You  told  me  how 
the  earth  pulls  and  pulls  and  pulls  everything  down 
to  itself.  And  that  is  why  things  are  heavy." 

"  In  the  same  manner  the  sun  attracts,"  said  Fritz. 
"  He  pulls  and  pulls  all  the  planets  towards  himsel£ 
And  that  is  why  the  planets  are  heavy." 

"Are  they  heavy?    Is  our  earth  heavy  ?"  asked  Ikon. 

"Certainly  they  are.  We  are  able  to  calculate, 
from  the  manner  in  which  the  sun  pulls,  and  in 
which  they  pull  each  other,  how  heavy  each  planet 
is,  compared  with  the  rest." 

"  Stella  said  Jupiter  and  Saturn  weren't  so  heavy 
as  she  thought  they  would  be,  Mr.  Fritz." 

Fritz  laughed  to  himself  at  the  wording  of  the 
sentence.  "Jupiter  and  Saturn  do  not  weigh  so 
much  as  we  should  expect  from  their  seeming  size," 
he  said. 

"So  perhaps  they  aren't  really  so  big,  except  for 
the  clouds  all  round  them,"  added  Ikon.  "  I  wonder 
why  the  sun  pulls  so  at  all  the  planets." 

"  I  cannot  tell  you  why,  Ikon — except  that  God 


What  might  have  been  seen.  261 

has  made  all  substances  with  this  curious  power  of 
attracting  or  pulling  every  other  substance.  The 
planets  attract  one  another  and  attract  the  sun  also. 
But  the  enormous  size  and  weight  of  the  sun  make 
his  pulling  by  far  the  most  important." 

"  I  wonder  what  would  happen  if  the  sun  didn't 
keep  on  pulling,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Something  very  dreadful  would  happen,  Ikon. 
The  earth  and  all  the  planets  would  rush  away  from 
him,  far  off  into  space,  and  would  be  lost  in  cold  and 
darkness." 

"  But  why  ? "  asked  Ikon.  "  Why  shouldn't  all  the 
planet's  just  stay  quiet  where  they  are,  near  to  the 
sun?" 

"  Because  none  of  the  planets  are  quiet,"  replied 
Fritz.  "  They  are  all  rushing  round  the  sun  at  a 
great  speed.  When  a  heavy  body  is  moving  fast,  it 
is  always  naturally  inclined  to  go  forward  in  a 
straight  path.  Now  the  sun's  attraction  prevents 
this.  The  sun  keeps  pulling  each  planet  out  of  a 
straight  course,  and  forcing  it  to  travel  in  a  bent 
path  round  and  round  himself.  But  if  once  the  sun 
ceased  pulling,  all  the  planets  would  rush  madly  away 
into  space,  leaving  the  sun  behind  them." 

Ikon  sat  and  thought. 

"  On  the  other  hand,"  continued  Fritz—"  if  the 


262  Among  the  Stars. 

planets  did  not  rush,  but  were  '  quiet,'  as  you  sug- 
gested just  now,  they  would  all  fall  down  upon  the 
sun  and  perish." 

"  Would  they  ?"  said  Ikon. 

"  Certainly.  The  attraction  of  the  sun  is  so  great, 
that  only  the  rapid  rush  of  the  planets  can  keep 
them  from  being  dragged  too  near." 

"  And  the  nearest  planets  have  to  go  the  fastest," 
said  Ikon. 

"  Yes.  The  less  distance,  the  greater  attraction," 
said  Fritz. 

"  And  the  farthest  planets  have  to  go  the  slowest," 
said  Ikon.  "  But  it  isn't  very  slow.  Jupiter  goes 
five  hundred  miles  a  minute." 

"  Quite  correct,"  said  Fritz. 

"  Mr.  Fritz,  suppose  Jupiter  took  to  going  six 
hundred  miles  a  minute  ? " 

"  Then  he  would  gradually  move  to  an  orbit  farther 
away  from  the  sun  than  now,"  said  Fritz. 

"  And  suppose  he  went  slower  ? "  said  Ikon.  "  Sup- 
pose he  didn't  go  more  than  four  hundred  miles  a 
minute  ?  O  please  let  me  guess — wouldn't  he  go 
nearer  to  the  sun  ? " 

"  Yes,  certainly.  But  that  ought  not  to  be  a  mere 
guess,"  said  Fritz.  "  You  ought  to  feel  sure  that  it 
would  be  so." 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 

HOW  THE  MOON  GOES  ROUND. 

*'  MR.  FRITZ,  I'm  afraid  you  are  in  a  great  hurry  to 
go,"  said  Ikon  wistfully.  "But  there's  one  thing 
more  that  I  want  most  dreadfully  to  know  about, 
and  nobody  has  told  me — not  Herr  Lehrer,  nor  you 
neither." 

"You  need  not  say  'nor'  and  'neither'  too," 
said  Fritz.  "One  negative  is  enough.  What  do 
you  want  to  know'?" 

"  About  the  moon's  halves  and  quarters,"  said  Ikon. 
"  What  you  called  the  moon's  '  faces,'  Mr.  Fritz." 

"Phases,  not  faces,"  said  Fritz.  "The  changes 
through  which  the  moon  seems  to  pass  every  month." 

"  Yes.  I  don't  know  why  the  moon  doesn't  always 
look  round,  like  the  sun,"  said  Ikon.  "  I've  been 
thinking  and  thinking,  and  I  can't  make  it  out  one 
bit." 

"  Quite  right  to  try,"  said  Fritz. 


264  Among  the  Stars. 

Then  he  sat  for  some  seconds,  considering;  while 
Ikon  stared  hard  at  him,  as  if  expecting  to  read  an 
explanation  in  his  face. 

"  Have  you  a  lamp  and  a  small  globe,  Ikon  ? " 

"  O  yes,  there's  a  lamp  in  the  schoolroom,  and 
there's  the  school  globe,"  said  Ikon.  "  Herr  Lehrer 
gave  me  a  lesson  with  them.  But  it's  daylight  now.'1 

"  Never  mind.     We  can  make  it  dark.     Come." 

Ikon  followed  in  high  glee.  Fritz  seemed  to  know 
the  room  well. 

"  We  shall  want  the  lamp  lighted,"  he  said.  "  Stay 
— you  need  not  call  anyone.  I  understand  lamps. 
Give  me  some  matches." 

Ikon  procured  a  box  from  somewhere  near.  Fritz 
lighted  the  lamp,  put  it  on  the  centre  table,  let  down 
the  blinds,  and  drew  the  curtains. 

"  Why,  it  is  just  like  night,"  explained  Ikon. 

"  Now  for  the  globe,"  said  Fritz.  "  That  is  rather 
too  large  for  convenience.  Have  you  a  big  india- 
rubber  ball?  Thanks — that  will  do" — as  Ikon 
eagerly  drew  one  out  of  a  low  cupboard. 

"  Now,  stand  near  the  table.  Not  too  near.  Re- 
member, Ikon,  that  lamp  is  the  sun.  Your  head  is 
the  earth.  This  ball  is  the  moon." 

"Am  I  to  go  spinning  round  the  sun?"  asked 
Ikon. 


How  the  Moon  goes  round.  265 

"  Properly  you  ought,  of  course,  to  do  so.  But  as 
our  business  now  is  with  the  appearance  of  the  moon 
seen  from  earth,  it  will  simplify  matters  to  have  you 
stand  still.  You  must  suppose  that  all  the  time  you 
really  are  spinning  on  your  axis  and  travelling  round 
the  sun;  and  that  the  moon  is  doing  the  same.  The 
phases  of  the  moon,  however,  can  be  quite  as  well 
shown  without  those  movements." 

Fritz  held  the  ball  outside  Ikon,  on  the  side  away 
from  the  lamp.  He  held  it  a  little  raised  above 
Ikon's  head,  so  as  to  be  out  of  Ikon's  shadow. 

"  Now  remember,"  he  said  again,  "  that  people  on 
the  real  earth  can  only  see  so  much  of  the  real  moon 
as  the  sun  lights  up.  The  dark  side  of  the  moon  is 
invisible  to  us.  The  sun  is  a  star,  and  shines  equally 
all  round;  but  the  moon  is  a  planet,  with  a  bright 
side  and  a  dark  side." 

"O  yes — like  the  lamp  and  the  ball,"  assented 
Ikon. 

"  How  much  of  the  bright  side  of  the  ball  can  you 
see  now,  Ikon  ? " 

"  I  can  see  it  all,"  said  Ikon.  "  It  is  all  bright 
towards  me;  and  I  can't  see  any  of  the  dark  side." 

"  Then,  if  this  were  the  moon,  very  bright  and  far 
away,  it  would  show  a  flat  round  surface  like  our 

full-moon,"  said  Fritz.     "At  full-moon,  the  moon 
18 


266  Among  the  Stars. 

is  outside  the  earth,  away  from  the  sun;  and  we  see 
the  full  round  bright  side." 

Fritz  removed  the  ball  slowly  to  one  side  of  Ikon. 

"  You  must  turn  gently,  so  as  to  look  at  the  ball 
still,"  he  said.  "  The  real  earth  spins  incessantly, 
and  also  has  people  all  round  to  look.  But  you  have 
only  one  pair  of  eyes.  Now,  how  much  of  the 
bright  part  of  the  ball  can  you  see  ?" 

"  I  can't  see  all  the  bright  side,  Mr.  Fritz.  I 
can  see  half  of  the  bright  part,  and  half  of  the  shady 
part." 

"  That  is  the  half-moon,"  said  Fritz — "  the  shady 
part  being  invisible  in  the  case  of  the  real  moon." 

"But  that  doesn't  look  like  the  shape  of  the 
half-moon,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Merely  because  the  ball  is  near,  and  you  can  see 
its  rounded  surface  and  also  its  dark  side.  If  it 
were  so  far  off  as  to  look  flat,  if  the  dark  part  were 
hidden  and  the  bright  part  were  very  bright  indeed, 
then  you  would  have  exactly  the  half-moon  shape." 

Fritz  moved  the  ball  slowly  on,  till  it  was  between 
Ikon  and  the  lamp — a  little  lower  down  than  Ikon's 
eyes,  so  as  not  to  hide  the  lamp  from  him. 

"Now," — he  said, while  so  moving — "you  can  see 
less  and  less  of  the  bright  side,  as  it  turns  more  and 
more  away  from  you.  That  is  how  the  half-mooa 


How  the  Moon  goes  round.  267 

grows  into  the  crescent  moon.  How  much  can  you 
see  of  the  bright  side  of  the  ball  now,  Ikon  ?  " 

"  I  can't  see  a  bit  of  it,"  said  Ikon.  "  The  bright 
part  is  quite  turned  away,  and  I  can  only  see  the 
dull  half." 

"  Which  means  that  you  would  not  be  able  to  see 
the  real  moon  at  all.  That  is  what  we  call  new- 
moon.  The  new  moon  at  first  is  quite  invisible, 
because  the  bright  side  is  turned  entirely  away,  and 
only  the  unlighted  half  of  the  moon  is  towards  us." 

Fritz  moved  slowly  on  again,  till  he  was  on  the 
other  side  of  Ikon. 

"  Half-moon  again,"  he  said.  "  From  a  little  cres- 
cent of  light  it  increases  gradually  to  half-moon; 
then  on  and  on  to  full-moon  once  more." 

"  I  think  I  do  really  understand  now,"  said  Ikon. 
"  Mr.  Fritz,  didn't  you  once  say  that  Venus  had 
halves  and  quarters  like  the  moon  ?  " 

"  Yes.  The  explanation  is  very  much  the  same," 
said  Fritz.  "  Venus  is  a  planet,  with  a  bright  and 
dark  side.  Sometimes  we  see  the  whole  of  the 
bright  side,  and  sometimes  only  part  of  it.  But  I 
do  not  think  you  had  better  confuse  your  mind  with 
going  into  that  subject  to-day.  Try  to  be  clear 
about  the  moon  first." 

"I'll  try  and  not  forget,"  said  Ikon. 


268  Among  the  Stars. 

"I  told  you  just  now  that  we  could  never  see  the 
dark  side  of  the  moon,"  said  Fritz.  "  But  sometimes 
we  do  catch  a  glimpse  of  it,  shining  faintly — not 
shining  with  sunlight,  but  with  light  borrowed  from 
our  bright  earth." 

"  How  funny! "  said  Ikon. 

"  Beautiful,  rather  than  funny,  I  should  say.  Ikon, 
when  I  held  the  ball  between  your  head  and  the 
lamp,  I  held  it  rather  low.  Why  was  that  ?" 

"So  as  not  to  hide  the  lamp  from  me  ! "  asked 
Ikon. 

"  Yes.  I  did  so  because  it  is  so  in  reality.  The 
real  moon,  passing  between  the  real  earth  and  sun, 
does  not  generally  pass  exactly  between,  but  is  as  a 
rule  a  little  higher  or  a  little  lower.  Sometimes, 
however,  it  really  does  come  exactly  between.  What 
is  the  result  ?  " 

Fritz  lifted  the  ball  as  he  spoke,  and  held  it 
between  the  lamp  and  Ikon's  eyes. 

"  Why— I  can't  see  the  lamp,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Which  means  that  people  on  earth  would  be  un 
able  to  see  the  sun,"  said  Fritz. 

"  Does  the  moon  truly  hide  the  sun  sometimes, 
Mr.  Fritz?" 

"  Now  and  then  it  does  so,  at  regular  intervals- 
just  when  its  pathway  lies  precisely  between  the  earth 


How  the  Moon  goes  round.  269 

ind  sun.  That  is  what  we  call  an  eclipse  of  the  sun, 
or  a  hiding  of  the  sun.  People  used  to  be  very 
much  frightened  in  old  days  to  see  a  black  body 
creeping  over  the  bright  sun.  But  now  we  know 
what  it  means.  Astronomers  can  tell  us  beforehand 
exactly  when  such  an  event  will  happen." 

"  Is  the  sun  hidden  for  a  great  while  ?"  asked  Ikon. 

"  No — only  for  a  few  minutes  at  the  most.  Some- 
times the  moon  only  comes  enough  between  to  pass 
over  a  part  of  the  sun's  face.  But  now  and  then  we 
have  what  we  call  a  total  eclipse,  when  the  moon 
quite  covers  the  sun.  Those  are  the  times  when, 
for  a  few  seconds,  the  sea  of  fire  round  the  sun 
may  be  seen  in  a  telescope,  and  the  tall  flame- 
mountains,  and  the  lovely  corona.  For  the  round 
dark  moon  hides  the  dazzling  body  of  the  sun,  and 
then  these  appearances  become  visible." 

"I  remember  about  the  flame-mountains  and  the 
corona,"  said  Ikon.  "  Mr.  Fritz,  when  you  held  the 
ball  on  the  other  side  of  my  head,  you  put  it  up  high 
Was  that  for  the  same  reason  ? " 

"  Do  you  think  my  reason  could  have  been  just  the 
same,  Ikon  ?  Think  before  you  speak." 

"  The  ball  couldn't  have  hidden  the  lamp  from  me, 
because  it  was  on  the  other  side  of  my  head,  and 
not  between,"  said  Ikon,  after  a  pause. 


270  Among  the  Stars. 

"True.  But  something  else  would  have  been 
hidden,  if  I  had  held  the  ball  lower." 

"Would  it?" 

Fritz  stretched  out  his  hand  with  the  india-rubber 
ball,  to  the  "  full-moon"  position.  This  time,  how- 
ever, the  ball  was  as  low  as  Ikon's  head. 

"  How  much  of  the  bright  side  of  the  ball  can  you 
see  now  ? "  he  asked. 

"Why,  the  ball  isn't  bright  at  all,  Mr.  Fritz— not 
any  part  of  it.  The  lamplight  can't  get  to  the 
ball." 

"Why  not?" 

"It  is  too  low  down.  My  head  conies  right 
between." 

"Between  what?" 

"  The  lamp  and  the  ball,"  said  Ikon. 

"  In  other  words,  the  earth  comes  between  the  sun 
and  moon,  and  cuts  off  all  sunlight  from  the  moon,' 
said  Fritz.  "  Then  instead  of  a  bright  full-moon,  the 
shadow  of  earth  hides  the  moon  from  our  sight- 
just  as  the  shadow  of  your  head  now  falls  upon  the 
ball." 

"  But  I  can  see  the  ball,  Mr.  Fritz." 

"  Yes,  because  it  is  so  near.  We  cannot  see  the 
moon  when  she  is  in  shade.  That  hiding  of  the 
moon  by  the  earth's  shadow  we  call  an  eclipse  of  the 


How  the  Moon  goes  round.  271 

moon.  It  happens  now  and  then  —  at  stated 
times.'' 

"  Do  astronomers  know  beforehand  ? "  asked  Ikon. 

"  Yes,  always." 

Then  Fritz  put  down  the  ball. 

"I  must  go  now,"  he  said.  "Good-bye,  Ikon.  I 
have  quite  enjoyed  our  story-readings.  By-and-by, 
when  I  come  home  again,  I  should  like  to  show  you 
some  stars  through  my  telescope.  You  must  grow 
strong  before  then,  so  that  Dormer  will  not  be  afraid 
of  the  night  air.  Meanwhile  I  expect  you  and  Stella 
will  become  fast  friends." 

"  Oh,  is  Stella  coming  ?"  cried  Ikon.  "The  real 
live  Stella  !  Will  she  be  a  dear  little  girl  in  white  ?" 

"  Dear  me,  I  quite  forgot,"  exclaimed  Fritz.  "  I 
was  not  to  have  said  anything.  Well — never  mind; 
you  must  have  known  soon.  Yes,  she  is  coming 
next  week,  to  pay  your  father  a  visit." 

"  And  me  too  ? "  asked  Ikon. 

"  I  suppose  so." 

"Will  she  stay  long?" 

"  A  few  days,  perhaps.  You  will  soon  be  friends* 
Good-bye,  Ikon." 

And  Fritz  vanished. 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

STELLA. 

NEARLY  a  week  passed.  Ikon  sat  one  day  alone  in 
his  playroom,  indulging  in  dreams  of  the  coming 
visitor.  A  vision  floated  before  his  mind's  eye  of  a 
gentle  little  maid,  robed  in  white,  with  long  fair  hair 
and  gauzy  wings.  Of  course  he  knew  the  wings  to 
be  a  mistake,  but  he  never  could  banish  them  when 
thinking  of  Stella. 

Suddenly  the  door-handle  turned,  and  somebody 
entered. 

Ikon  looked  up,  and  a  great  rush  of  disappointment 
swept  over  him.  Was  this  Stella  ?  No  wings,  of 
course;  that  he  knew  he  must  expect.  No  floating 
fair  locks  either,  or  snowy  frock,  or  childish 
form.  The  new-comer  was  many  years  older  than 
Ikon;  quite  a  full-blown  young  lady,  he  thought 
sorrowfully.  She  was  dressed  in  brown  from  head 


Stella.  273 

to  foot;  and  her  fair  hair  was  rolled  up  into  a  neat 
coil;  and  her  blue  eyes  were  sparkling  and  full  of 
fun,  not  at  all  dreamy  or  star-like. 

Ikon  said  nothing.  He  did  not  even  get  up.  He 
was  so  dreadfully  disappointed  that  he  quite  forgot 
to  be  polite,  and  only  sat  still,  staring  with  all  his 
might. 

But  the  young  lady  did  not  seem  at  all  distressed. 
She  came  straight  up  to  the  boy,  with  a  light  decided 
step,  and  said  smilingly — 

"  How  do  you  do  ?     Are  you  Ikon  ? " 

"  Yes,"  said  Ikon  dismally. 

"  And  I  am  Stella.  Now  we  know  one  another, 
don't  we  ? " 

Ikon  could  say  nothing.  His  eyes  filled  with 
tears. 

"  You  don't  mean  to  say  you  are  sorry  to  see 
me  ? "  asked  Stella,  bending  over  him  with  a  kind 
look. 

Ikon  could  not  help  it.  He  burst  into  a  sob,  and 
said — 

"  Oh,  I  did  think  Stella  was  to  be  a  dear  little 
girl.  Mr.  Fritz  told  me  so." 

"  Mr.  Fritz  saw  me  years  ago,  and  he  can't  imagine 
that  I  have  grown  any  older,"  said  Stella. 

Then  she  threw  aside  her  brown  hat,  and  pulled 


274  Among  the  Stars. 

off  her  brown  gloves,  and  sat  down  beside  Ikon,  and 
kissed  him. 

"  Come,  you  are  not  going  to  be  miserable,"  she 
said.  "  Think  how  uncomfortable  I  shall  feel,  if  you 
don't  give  me  a  welcome.  You  really  need  not  mind 
about  my  age.  People  say  I  am  a  child  still  in  many 
ways.  And  seventeen  is  not  so  very  old." 

"  It's  most  dreadfully  grown  up,"  said  Ikon  in  a 
doleful  voice. 

"  O  but  I  am  not  grown  up  at  all  yet.  I  don't 
know  how  to  grow  up,  and  I  never  did.  You  and  I 
are  going  to  have  all  sorts  of  fun  together.  And  my 
father  says  you  are  just  as  fond  of  the  stars  as  I 
always  have  been."  , 

"Are  you  fond  of  the  stars  ?"  asked  Ikon,  a  little 
comforted. 

"  I  love  them  dearly.     Don't  you  ?  " 

"  O  yes.  Only  I  want  to  know  more  about  them,' 
said  Ikon. 

"  Well,  perhaps  I  can  tell  you  a  few  little  things," 
said  Stella.  Then,  with  a  merry  look  in  her  eyes, 
she  added,  "  I  believe  you  and  I  have  already  taken  a 
long  journey  together — not  to  the  stars,  but  to  the 
planets.  Naughty  Mr.  Fritz  !  " 

"  But  that  was  quite  a  little  girl,"  said  Ikon. 

"  A  little  girl  with  wings  and  a  white  frock.    I  used 


Stella.  275 

to  wear  white  frocks  a  great  deal  "when  I  was  small. 
Well,  I  have  not  wings,  Ikon,  certainly — except 
invisible  ones." 

"  Herr  Lehrer  said  /had  wings,"  remarked  Ikon. 

"  So  he  told  me." 

"Do  you  know  that  dear  nice  Herr  Lehrer?" 
cried  Ikon. 

"  Know  him  !     He  is  my  father." 

"  O  then  I  shall  love  you,"  said  Ikon,  with  great 
eagerness. 

"  Did  you  not  know  that  I  was  his  child  ? "  asked 
Stella.  "  No  wonder  I  have  learnt  to  love  the  stars, 
Ikon,  with  such  a  father  to  teach  me." 

"  Does  Dormer  know  you  are  here  ? "  Ikon  presently 
inquired. 

"  Yes;  and  everything  is  all  right.  My  box  has 
gone  to  my  room;  and  I  have  had  a  cup  of  tea;  and 
I  told  Dormer  she  need  not  trouble  herself  about  me 
any  more  till  I  have  to  dress  for  dinner.  I  thought 
it  would  be  pleasant  to  come  and  make  your  acquain- 
tance the  first  thing.  For  it  seemed  as  if  we  ought 
to  know  one  another,  after  taking  that  long  journey 
together  among  the  planets." 

"  But  it  wasn't  me.     It  was  Eikon,"  said  Ikon. 

"  I  don't  think  that  makes  much  difference,"  said 
Stella. 


276  Among  the  Stars. 

Ikon  crept  a  little  nearer  to  his  new  friend,  and 
very  soon  her  hand  was  passed  softly  over  his  hair. 

"  I  hope  you  will  stay  a  long  while  here,"  he 
said  wistfully. 

"  Only  a  week,  just  now,  I  am  afraid.  But  we 
shall  soon  meet  again,  I  hope." 

"  Will  you  talk  to  me  about  the  stars  this  week  ? " 
asked  Ikon. 

"  I'll  talk  to  you  about  anything  you  like,  Ikon." 

"  I  want  to, know  about  the  real  stars,"  said  Ikon. 
"  I  have  heard  lots  about  the  planets.  But  it's  always 
the  planets,  and  not  the  stars." 

"  The  planets  are  not  so  far  off,  so  of  course  they 
come  first,"  said  Stella. 

"  Yes,  I  liked  to  know  about  them  first.  It  wasn't 
so  difficult,  I  suppose,  as  farther-off  things  would  be," 
said  Ikon  seriously.  "  But  I  should  like  to  learn 
now  about  the  real  far-off  stars." 

"  Do  you  happen  to  know  which  is  the  nearest  star 
of  all!  "asked  Stella. 

"  No,"  said  Ikon,  "  I  never  heard  its  name." 

"  Are  you  quite  sure  ? " 

"  O  yes;  quite"  said  Ikon. 

"  Curious,"  said  Stella  quietly.  "  Did  neither  my 
father  nor  Fritz  ever  speak  of  the  sun  ? " 

"  Oh,  the  sun  !  "  Ikon  exclaimed. 


Stella.  277 

"  That  is  the  nearest  star,"  said  Stella.  "  Don't 
you  know  that  the  sun  is  a  star  ? " 

"  I  forgot,"  said  Ikon.  Then  a  smile  broke  over  his 
face,  and  he  said,  "I  think  you  are  the  nearest  star 
of  all  just  now." 


CHAPTER   XXVI.    . 

STAR   JOURNEYINGS. 

"  How  much  do  you  know  about  the  stars,  Ikon  ?" 
asked  Stella. 

"  I  don't  know  more  than  a  very  very  little,"  said 
Ikon. 

They  were  out  in  the  garden  together,  sitting 
under  a  tree,  and  enjoying  a  lovely  spring  day. 

Ikon  could  not  help  thinking  about  the  dream-story 
of  the  journey  to  the  sun,  and  of  the  children  with 
wings.  But  he  no  longer  wished  to  exchange  the 
real  Stella  for  the  fancy  Stella.  He  loved  her 
already,  though  she  had  not  been  twenty-four  hours 
in  the  house. 

"  Tell  me  something  of  what  you  do  know,"  said 
Stella. 

"  I  know  the  stars  are  always  in  the  sky — always 
bright,"  said  Ikon,  after  some  thought.  "  Only  we 
can't  see  them  in  the  day  because  of  the  sun-light." 


Star  Journeyings.  279 

"  Because  of  the  sunlight  and  air  together,"  said 
Stella.  "Sunlight  alone  would  not  hide  the  stars. 
The  air  weaves  a  veil  of  sunbeams,  and  the  stars 
cannot  shine  through  this  veil." 

41  O  yes — I  remember  it  was  air  too,"  said  Ikon. 
"  And  the  stars  rise  and  set,  like  the  sun.  There  are 
always  stars  rising  and  stars  setting,  all  day  and 
night.  And  they  don't  really  move,  because  they  are 
fixed  stars;  but  the  earth  spins  round  and  round, 
and  that  makes  the  stars  seem  to  rise  and  set — and 
the  sun  and  moon  too." 

44  Do  you  happen  to  know  whether  we  always  see 
the  same  stars  at  the  same  hour  of  the  night,  all  the 
year  round,  Ikon?" 

44  No,"  Ikon  said  slowly.  "  I  don't  think  so.  I'm 
almost  quite  sure  we  don't.  Because  my  star  went 
away.  And  Herr  Lehrer  said  they  did  change  a 
little  every  day." 

44  Did  seem  to  change,"  said  Stella. 

44  Is  that  only  seeming  too  ? "  asked  Ikon. 

4<  Nothing  more.  It  is  caused  by  the  earth's  own 
movement — not  her  daily  spinning,  but  her  yearly 
journey  round  the  sun.  Day  after  day  as  she  moves 
on  in  her  orbit,  slight  changes  seem  to  take 
place." 

41  What  sort  of  changes  ? "  asked  Ikon. 


280  Among  the  Stars. 

"  If  you  watch  any  particular  star  set  to-night, 
that  star  will  set  to-morrow  night  four  minutes 
earlier.  It  is  the  same  with  all  the  stars.  Four 
minutes  every  day  mounts  up  to  half-an-hour  in  a 
week,  or  six  hours  in  three  months.  So  a  star 
which  is  above  the  horizon  at  nine  o'clock  this 
evening,  may  be  below  the  horizon  at  nine  o'clock 
a  few  weeks  hence.  By-and-by  most  of  the  stars 
which  are  now  hidden  from  us  by  daylight,  will  be 
visible  at  night.  There  is  a  constant  steady  change 
going  on  through  all  the  year." 

"But  some  stars  don't  set  at  all,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Some  stars  never  set  to  us  who  live  in  the 
northern  hemisphere,  and  those  stars  never  rise  to 
people  who  live  in  the  southern  hemisphere.  Some 
stars  which  are  always  seen  in  the  south  are  never 
seen  in  the  north.  But  there  are  constellations 
which  we  see  at  night  in  winter,  and  can't  see  in 
summer — and  others  which  we  see  in  summer  and 
can't  see  in  winter." 

"  I  wish  I  could  understand  it  all  properly,"  said 
Ikon,  with  knitted  brows. 

"You  must  have  patience,"  said  Stella,  patting  his 
cheek.  "  These  things  take  a  long  while  to  learn 
properly.  I  am  only  giving  you  a  few  ideas  now,  to 
make  you  wish  to  know  more.  Tell  me  if  you  quite 


Star  Journey  ings.  281 

understand  something  else.  What  is  our  sun— 
really?" 

"It's  a  great  big  hot  blazing" — Ikon  hesitated, 
and  then  said — "star." 

"  You  are  sure  it  is  a  star  ? " 

"  Yes,"  Ikon  said;  and  then  he  paused  again.  "  Is 
it  a  fixed  star  ? " 

"  Yes  and  no,"  said  Stella.    "  Fixed  and  not  fixed." 

"  The  sun  seems  to  move  every  day,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Yes,  but  you  know  that  to  be  merely  in  seem- 
ing. When  we  talk  of  fixed  stars,  do  you  know 
what  we  mean  ? " 

"  Why — that  the  stars  don't  really  move  at  all, ' 
said  Ikon. 

"  No;  we  only  mean  that  they  do  not  seem  to 
move." 

"  But  they  do,"  Ikon  began,  and  paused. 

"  They  seem  all  to  sweep  over  the  sky  or  round  the 
north  pole  in  company,  every  night.  They  do  not 
seem  to  move  about  among  themselves.  We  never 
see  one  star  going  faster  than  another.  We  never 
see  a  constellation  breaking  up,  or  taking  a  new 
shape.  The  stars  do  not  seem  to  travel  in  space 
like  the  planets,  each  on  its  own  separate  pathway." 

"  O  no, — I  understand,"  Ikon  said  brightly. 

"And  yet  the  stars  really  do  move,"  said' Stella. 
19 


282  Among  the  Stars. 

"  The  sun  journeys,  and  the  stars  journey.  Every 
single  star,  so  far  as  we  know,  is  rushing  through 
space,  with  his  own  particular  speed,  and  on  his  own 
particular  pathway.  Some  go  faster,  and  some  go 
more  slowly.  Some  go  this  way  and  some  go  that 
way.  The  sun  is  only  one  among  multitudes  of 
rushing  stars." 

Ikon's  eyes  were  wide  open.  "  Mr.  Fritz  didn't 
say  so,"  he  observed.  "  When  Eikon  saw  the  sun 
in  his  dream,  it  was  quite  still;  only  turning  round 
and  round." 

"  And  yet  the  sun  does  move,"  said  Stella. 

"  Very  very  slowly,  I  suppose,"  suggested  Ikon. 

"  Why,  no — I  don't  call  it  so  very  slowly.  The 
sun  travels  at  the  rate  of  about  four  miles  each 
second — or  two  hundred  and  forty  miles  a  minute." 

"  I  do  wonder  he  doesn't  leave  some  of  the  planets 
behind  him,"  said  Ikon.  "  Not  most  of  them,  though, 
— of  course  he  wouldn't,  because  they  go  so  much 
faster  than  that." 

"  They  go  faster  round  the  sun.  But  that  is  quite 
another  matter.  You  are  confusing  two  things 
together." 

"  Am  I  ?  "  said  Ikon. 

"  Yes.  When  you  think  of  the  planets'  journeys 
round  the  sun,  you  must  think  of  the  sun  as  nearly 


Star  Journeyings.  283 

in  the  centre,  quite  still  and  fixed.  But  when  you 
think  of  the  sun's  journey  in  space,  you  must  picture 
all  the  planets  as  journeying  with  him,  just  at  the 
same  speed  as  himself.  They  travel  in  their  orbits 
round  the  sun;  and  also  they  travel  with  the  sun 
in  his  great  orbit  among  the  stars.  Just,  as  the  moon 
travels  round  the  earth,  and  also  travels  with  the 
earth  round  the  sun." 

"  There  seem  such  lots  of  ways  of  going,"  said 
Ikon. 

"  Yes;  but  you  must  not  jumble  up  all  the  separate 
motions  together.  Try  to  have  them  clear  in  your 
mind.  There  is  no  real  confusion." 

"  Only  it's  a  little  puzzling,"  said  Ikon,  in  a  tone 
of  apology. 

"Think  of  the  moon  for  a  minute,"  said  Stella. 

.„ "  First,  she  spins  on  her  own  axis.     Secondly,  she 

travels  round  the  earth.     Thirdly,  she  goes  with  the 

earth  round  the  sun.     Fourthly,  she  and  the  earth 

journey  with  the  sun  through  space." 

"  Four,"  murmured  Ikon. 

"  But  there  is  no  confusion.  Everything  fits  in 
with  everything  else.  The  moon's  journey  round 
the  earth  does  not  interfere  with  her  turning  on  her 
axis.  The  moon's  journey  round  the  sun  does  not 
interfere  with  her  journey  round  the  earth.  The 


284  Among  the  Stars. 

moon's  journey  through  space  'does  not  interfere 
with  her  journey  round  the  sun." 

"  Does  the  sun  make  all  the  planets  go  with  him  ? " 
asked  Ikon. 

"  Yes — very  much  as  the  earth  makes  you  and  me 
go  with  her.  The  planets  are  all  held  in  and  drawn 
on  by  the  sun's  mighty  attraction.  When  the  chil- 
dren in  the  dream  saw  the  sun  at  rest,  it  must 
have  been  because  they  were  in  the  Solar  System, 
and  so  were  journeying  with  the  sun  and  planets  as 
part  of  the  Solar  System.  You  and  I  are  always 
travelling  with  the  earth,  but  we  don't  feel  ourselves 
to  be  moving;  and  the  earth  seems  to  us  to  be  at 
rest." 

"  Was  that  what  Mr.  Fritz  meant  in  his  story  ?" 

"  I  don't  know  what  else  he  could  have  meant," 
said  Stella,  smiling. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

FAST,    YET    SLOW. 

"  BUT  the  stars  don't  go  as  fast  as  the  sun  goes," 
said  Ikon. 

"  Some  of  them  very  much  faster.  Our  sun  is 
rather  a  slow  star,"  replied  Stella. 

Ikon  evidently  thought  he  had  caught  Stella  in  a 
mistake.  He  drew  his  brows  together,  and  burst 
out  with  a  "  But—" 

"Well?"  she  said,  looking  amused;  "don't  be 
afraid  to  speak  out,  Ikon." 

"  If  the  stars  were  really  all  rushing  and  rushing 
about  all  sorts  of  different  ways,  they  couldn't  all 
stay  always  looking  just  exactly  the  very  same,' 
said  Ikon,  with  extreme  eagerness. 

"  No,  they  couldn't,"  said  Stella,  shaking  her  head 
"Changes  must  show  in  time." 

"  But  they  don't,"  said  Ikon. 

Stella  smiled  again,  and  was  silent. 


286  Among  the  Stars. 

"  I  know  they  don't,  because  Herr  Lehrer  said  so," 
pursued  Ikon.  "Or  else  it  was  Mr.  Fritz;  but  I 
think  it  was  Herr  Lehrer.  He  said  that  if  Abraham 
was  to  see  the  stars  now,  he  wouldn't  see  any 
change." 

"  You  mean  that  if  Abraham  were  to  look  at  the 
stars  from  earth,  he  would  not  find  them  different 
from  what  they  appeared  four  thousand  years  ago, 
seen  then  from  earth,"  said  Stella. 

"  Was  Abraham  four  thousand  years  ago  ? "  asked 
Ikon. 

"  Somewhere  about  that,"  said  Stella. 

Then  she  drew  a  little  Bible  out  of  her  pocket,  and 
opened  it. 

"  I  suppose  you  and  my  father  were  thinking  of 
this  passage,"  she  remarked — 

"'And  He  brought  him  forth  abroad,  and  said, 
Look  now  toward  heaven,  and  tell  the  stars,  if  thou 
be  able  to  number  them.' " 

"  Abraham  did  see  the  stars  then,  didn't  he  ? "  said 
Ikon. 

"  Yes — and  very  often  besides,  no  doubt." 

Stella  turned  over  the  leaves  of  her  Bible,  till  she 
came  to  the  ninth  chapter  of  Job,  when  she  read 
again — 

" '  How  should   a  man  be  just  with  God   .   .   . 


Fast,  yet  Slow.  287 

Which  alone  spreadeth  out  the  heavens  .  .  .  Which 
maketh  Arcturus,  Orion  and  Pleiades  ? ' " 

"  Is  Arcturus  in  the  Bible  ? "  said  Ikon,  greatly 
interested.  "  O  let  me  see,  please.  What  are  the 
other  two  ? " 

"  Orion  is  a  splendid  group  of  stars,  supposed  to 
be  a  man  with  a  sword  and  belt.  Pleiades  is  a  small 
cluster  of  many  stars  very  close  together.  Five  or 
six  can  be  commonly  seen  in  England;  sometimes 
seven,  with  good  sight.  There  is  a  curious  soft  shine 
about  the  Pleiades.  We  see  Orion  and  Pleiades  in 
the  winter  and  spring  months,  in  England." 

Stella  turned  over  some  more  leaves. 

"  Listen,  Ikon.  This  is  in  the  thirty-eighth  chapter 
of  Job: 

"  '  Canst  thou  bind  the  sweet  influences  of  Pleiades, 
or  loose  the  bands  of  Orion  ? ' ' 

"What  does  'sweet  influences'  mean?"  asked 
Ikon. 

"  I  don't  know — unless  it  means  the'  attraction 
which  those  distant  suns  exercise  over  other  stars 
and  worlds,"  said  Stella. 

"  I  wonder  if  it  is  that !  "  said  Ikon.  "  Then  the 
Plei " 

"  Pleiades,"  said  Stella. 

"  The  Pleiades — are  they  real  suns  too  ?  " 


288  Among  the  Stars. 

"We  believe  so.  There  is  no  doubt  of  it,"  said 
Stella. 

Closing  her  Bible,  she  added: 

"  You  see,  Ikon,  these  constellations  seem  to 
have  been  known  long  ago — in  the  days  of  Job 
and  Abraham.  Many  of  the  chief  constellations  and 
leading  stars  had  their  names  given  to  them  in  very 
early  times — farther  back  than  we  should  imagine." 

Ikon  said  "  Yes,"  and  waited,  for  Stella  plainly  had 
more  to  say. 

"  I  should  not  wonder,"  she  went  on  slowly,  "  if 
a  man  had  studied  the  stars  from  earth,  in  Abraham's 
days,  and  were  to  study  them  again  now,  in  the  same 
manner — I  should  not  wonder  if  he  were  to  see  no 
changes." 

"No,"  said  Ikon;  "that  was  what  Herr  Lehrer 
meant." 

"  But  that  does  not  at  all  settle  the  question  about 
the  stars  moving,"  said  Stella.  "  There  were  no 
telescopes  in  Abraham's  days,  Ikon, — no  means  of 
making  such  close  and  delicate  measurements  as  are 
made  now." 

"  No,"  said  Ikon. 

"  And  without  such  measurements,  and  without 
powerful  telescopes,  the  real  movements  of  stars 
could  not  possibly  be  discovered.  The  stars  are  so 


Fast,  yet  Slow.  289 

very  very  far  away,  that  changes  among  them,  seen 
from  earth,  take  place  with  extreme  slowness.  How 
slowly  you  would  never  guess." 

"Tell  me  about  them,  please,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Arcturus,  for  instance,"  began  Stella. 

"  My  star  !  "  whispered  Ikon. 

"  Arcturus  is  one  of  the  fastest  stars  known  to  us. 
Arcturus  is  known  to  be  constantly  rushing  through 
space  at  the  rate  of  fifty-four  miles  each  second." 

"  Oh— h  !  "  exclaimed  Ikon.  "  Why  that's  ever  so 
much  faster  than  even  little  Mercury." 

"Not  much  less  than  twice  the  speed  of  Mercury. 
And  yet,  Ikon,  though  Arcturus  is  really  journeying 
at  this  tremendous  rate,  we  cannot  see  his  speed. 
He  seems  to  creep  across  the  sky,  in  the  slowest 
fashion.  If  you  watched  Arcturus  steadily  for  a 
hundred  years,  with  the  most  exact  means  of  measur- 
ing his  position,  you  would  only  find  him  crawl  over 
a  little  bit  of  the  sky,  one-eighth  as  broad  as  the  full 
moon." 

"  But  why  doesn't  he  go  faster  ? " 

"  Arcturus  does  go  faster — really.  He  only  does 
not  seem  to  go  fast." 

"  Well,  but  why  doesn't  he  seem  ?  "  inquired  Ikon. 

"  Did  you  ever  take  a  journey  by  rail  ? "  asked 
Stella. 


290  Among  the  Stars. 

Ikon  nodded,  and  said,  "  Twice." 

"  Do  you  remember  looking  out  of  the  carriage- 
window,  and  seeing  everything  seem  to  move — the 
hedges  and  fields  near  at  hand,  and  the  houses  and 
hills  far  off?" 

"  O  yes — they  did  hurry  by,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Which  seemed  to  go  faster — those  near  at  hand, 
or  those  more  distant  ? " 

"  Oh,  the  things  near  at  hand,"  said  Ikon.  "  The 
telegraph  posts  just  seemed  to  fly,  and  the  bank 
went  so  fast  I  could  hardly  look  at  it.  The  hills  a 
long  way  off  crept  quite  slowly." 

"  Those  were  only  seeming  movements,  not  real," 
said  Stella.  "  It  was  the  train  which  moved,  not  the 
fields  and  trees.  But  you  may  understand  from  this, 
why  the  stars  seem  to  go  so  very  slowly." 

"  I  suppose  it  is  because  they  are  such  a  great  way 
off,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Exactly  that.     As  we  look  out  from  our  earth, 
we  see  the  heavenly  bodies  moving — really  moving, 
not  only  seeming  to  do  so.    Just  as  if  in  the  train, 
you  had  been  at  rest,  and  all  the  houses  and  fields 
and  hills  had  been  whirling  round  you." 

"  How  funny  that  would  be,"  said  Ikon. 

"  The  appearance  is  the  same  in  either  case,"  said 
Stella.  "  The  planets  are  near,  and  they  seem  to  go 


Fast,  yet  Slow.  291 

fast.  The  stars  are  far  away,  and  they  seem  to  go 
very  slowly.  But  this  does  not  show  that  the  stars 
may  not  be  moving  quite  as  quickly  as  any  of  the 
planets." 

"  No,"  said  Ikon. 

"We  see  almost  no  change  in  the  groups  of  stars, 
since  the  days  of  Abraham,"  continued  Stella.  "  But 
that  is  nothing.  Four  thousand  years  is  only  a  very 
little  while  in  the  history  of  a  star." 

"  Four  thousand  years  seems  such  an  enormous 
time,"  said  Ikon  wonderingly. 

"  Yes — to  you  and  me.  It  is  a  long  while  in  the 
history  of  man.  But  it  is  not  long  at  all  in  the 
history  of  the  stars.  Some  of  the  stars  are  so 
distant  that  twenty  or  thirty  miles  a  second  for  four 
thousand  years  of  travelling,  only  means  such  a  tiny 
movement  in  our  sky,  that  we  cannot  even  perceive 
it." 

"The  stars  must  be  very  very  old,"  said  Ikon 
seriously. 

"  I  don't  know  how  old,  Ikon.  I  don't  know  how 
long  ago  God  made  them.  Their  age  is  very  great 
beside  man's  little  life.  But  it  is  nothing  beside  the 
ages  of  Him  who  is  '  King  of  Eternity  ! ' " 


CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

HOW  MANY  STARS  THERE  ARE! 

"  Do  you  think  Abraham  knew  how  many  stars  there 
were,  Miss  Stella  ?"  asked  Ikon  next  day.  They  had 
been  so  busy  in  the  garden  and  fields  together,  as  to 
have  no  time  for  talking  about  the  stars.  But  now 
it  was  evening,  and  after  dark. 

"No,  I  think  not,"  Stella  answered. 

"  God  asked  him  to  tell,"  remarked  Ikon. 

"  Yes — if  he  were  able.  But  I  am  quite  sure  he 
was  not  able.  Of  course  God  could  have  told  Abra- 
ham, and  then  he  would  have  known.  I  do  not  believe 
that  God  did  tell  him,  though.  That  sort  of  thing 
men  are  generally  left  to  find  out  for  themselves." 

"  Do  people  know  now  ? "  asked  Ikon. 

"  We  know  more  now  than  men  knew  in  those 
days.  We  certainly  do  not  know  how  many  stars 
there  are." 

"I  wonder  how  many  Abraham  could  see." 


How  many  Stars  there  are!  293 

"  Oh,  that's  an  easier  question,"  said  Stella.  "  It 
is  said  that  we  hardly  ever  see  more  than  about  three 
thousand  stars  at  once." 

"  I  should  think  it  was  millions  sometimes,"  said 
Ikon. 

"  No:  not  more  than  about  three  thousand.  Not 
nearly  so  many,  except  with  a  el-ear  sky,  and  on  a  good 
night.  A  man  with  particularly  strong  eyes  can  of 
course  see  more  than  most  people.  And  in  the  coun- 
try where  Abraham  lived,  the  clear  sky  and  air  would 
make  a  larger  number  visible  than  in  England." 

"  Three  thousand  isn't  so  very  many,"  said  Ikon. 

"  No;  but  I  am  only  telling  of  those  which  can  be 
seen  with  our  own  eyes,  and  no  binocular  or  tele- 
scope to  help  Great  numbers  lie  beyond,  quite  out 
of  sight  to  man's  naked  eye." 

"  I  should  like  to  know  how  many  stars  there  really 
are,"  said  Ikon. 

"  People  generally  want  to  know  more  than  they 
can,"  said  Stella.  "  Ikon,  it  is  a  very  warm  evening. 
Shall  we  go  out  into  the  garden,  and  have  a  look  at 
the  stars  ? " 

"  O  do,  please,"  Ikon  said,  in  delight. 

Dormer  made  no  objections,  only  she  insisted  on 
much  wrapping  up.  And  presently  they  left  the 
house  together. 


294  Among  the  Stars. 

Ikon's  father  had  an  engagement  that  evening, 
and  Stella  had  chosen  to  take  tea  with  Ikon,  instead 
of  dining  alone.  So  now  she  was  free,  not  needing 
to  dress  for  late  dinner;  and  Ikon  was  charmed  to 
have  her  quite  to  himself. 

It  was  a  beautiful  night,  perfectly  cloudless.  The 
stars  shone  brilliantly,  and  no  moon  dimmed  them. 
Stella  went  with  Ikon  to  a  little  rising  ground  near, 
where  they  had  a  fine  view  of  the  heavens. 

"  You  are  well  placed  for  watching  the  stars,"  she 
said.  "  I  wish  our  garden  at  home  were  as  good." 

"  Don't  they  all  shine  and  shine  ? "  said  Ikon,  in  a 
hushed  voice.  "  Miss  Stella,  do  tell  me  some  of  the 
names." 

"  Can  you  find  me  first  the  Great  Bear  and  the 
Little  Bear  ?  Not  that  direction,  Ikon.  Don't  you 
know  that  the  Pole-star  is  in  the  north  ? " 

"  I  always  forget  where  north  is,"  said  Ikon. 

He  found  the  Great  Bear  first,  and  then  the  Little 
Bear,  not  so  easily.  "  That  is  the  Pole-star,  Miss 
Stella— the  tip  of  the  Little  Bear's  tail.  O  do 
please  tell  me — are  those  stars  all  really  and  truly 
moving — all  going  along  quite  fast  ? " 

Stella  simply  said,  "  Yes." 

"As  fast  as  our  sun  and  Arcturus?"  continued 
Ikon. 


How  many  Stars  there  are!  295 

"  Our  sun  and  Arcturus  don't  go  at  the  same 
pace,"  said  Stella.  "  Arcturus  travels  fifty-four  miles 
each  second,  and  our  sun  only  travels  four  miles  a 
second.  Look,  Ikon — there  is  Arcturus — to  the  east 
That  bright  star." 

"My  star!"  cried  Ikon.  "  The  dear  star  that  I 
lost !  I'm  so  glad." 

"  Does  it  look  like  the  same  again  ? "  asked  Stella, 
smiling. 

"  I  don't  know.  The  stars  are  all  so  much  alike — 
only  some  are  brighter.  I  think  I  should  feel  quite 
sure  if  I  could  see  it  over  the  poplars  again.  But 
my  star  was  bright  like  that." 

"  If  you  can  remember  the  day  and  hour  when 
you  saw  it  this  year,  you  may  look  again  next  year 
at  the  same  day  and  hour,  and  you  will  see  your  star 
in  the  same  spot,"  said  Stella. 

"  Arcturus  does  look  so  very  very  quiet,"  said  Ikon, 
in  a  hesitating  voice. 

"  So  quiet,  that  you  find  it  hard  to  believe  he  can 
really  be  whirling  along  at  such  a  rate,  don't  you  ? 
Yes — there  is  that  difficulty  with  the  stars.  We  are 
not  able  to  understand  their  great  distance." 

"  Miss  Stella,  does  the  Pole-star  go  along  very 
fast  ? " 

"  Not  very.    About  a  mile  and  a  half  each  moment.* 


296  Among  the  Stars. 

"  I  think  that's  quite  slow,"  said  Ikon. 

"  More  than  five  thousand  miles  an  hour.  Not  so 
•very  slow,  after  all,"  said  Stella,  smiling.  "  Now  I 
want  to  show  you  Orion.  Look — over  there,  low 
down  in  the  west — a  large  bright  constellation, 
something  like  a  man  in  shape.  At  least  we  fancy 
it  so,  and  a  picture  of  the  constellation  would  give 
the  outline  of  a  man.  There  is  a  star  for  the  head, 
and  one  for  each  arm,  and  one  for  each  foot.  There 
are  three  bright  stars  for  the  belt,  and  three  fainter 
ones  for  the  sword  hanging  at  Orion's  side.  It  is  a 
wonderful  group  of  bright  stars." 

Ikon  was  very  eager  to  understand  the  whole. 
Stella  patiently  explained,  till  he  seemed  satisfied. 

"  Now  see — not  far  from  Orion,  but  more  to  the 
south,  and  very  low  down, — there,  Ikon — a  very 
brilliant  star.  That  is  Sirius." 

"  I've  seen  Sirius  before.  I  know  that  star,"  said 
Ikon,  in  a  tone  of  satisfaction.  "  Herr  Lehrer  told 
me  it  was  a  beautiful  sun,  most  likely  ever  so  much 
bigger  than  our  sun." 

"  Sirius  travels  about  fourteen  miles  a  second — not 
so  slowly  as  our  sun,  and  not  so  fast  as  Arcturus," 
said  Stella. 

"  Sirius  is  so  splendidly  bright,"  said  Ikon.  "  At 
least  it  was  last  time  I  saw  it." 


ORION. 


p.  296. 


How  many  Stars  there  are  !  297 

"  Sirius  is  too  low  just  now,  to  look  his  best.  We 
will  go  back  to  the  Pole-star,  Ikon." 

"  I'm  looking,"  said  Ikon. 

"  You  must  take  that  for  a  starting-point  in  learn- 
ing the  constellations.  The  Pole-star  scarcely  seems 
to  move  at  all.  All  constellations  near  the  Pole- 
star  seem  to  sweep  round  it  once — in  every  twenty- 
four  hours." 

"Yes— that's  only  'seeming,'"  said  Ikon.  "It's 
because  the  earth  spins.  Miss  Stella,  does  the 
Great  Bear  sweep  round  the  Pole  Star  ? " 

"  Certainly.     Can  you  see  the  Great  Bear  ? " 

"  O  yes.     Quite  well.     There  he  is  !  " 

"  Now,  look  at  the  other  side  of  the  Pole-star, 
opposite  the  Great  Bear.  There  are  five  bright 
stars,  shaped  very  much  like  a  W — some  say  like  an 
easy-chair.  That  constellation  is  called  Cassiopeia." 

"  What  a  funny  name  !  "  Ikon  said. 

"  The  Great  Bear  and  Cassiopeia  are  opposite 
each  other,  with  the  Pole-star  between.  On  the 
other  two  sides  of  the  Pole-star  we  shall  find  two 
bright  stars,  which  you  ought  to  know.  There,  on 
one  side  is  Capella— on  the  other  side,  opposite 
Capella,  is  Vega.  So  now  you  have  four  starting- 
points.  The  Great  Bear  and  Cassiopeia  opposite 

each  other;  Capella  and  Vega  between  those  two, 
20 


29$  Among  tlit  Stars. 

and  opposite  each  other;  with  the  Pole-star  in  the 
centre." 

"  Won't  you  tell  me  more  names  ? "  asked  Ikon. 

"  Not  too  many  at  once.  But  I  will  tell  you  how 
to  find  your  favourite,  Arcturus.  You  see,  he  cannot 
always  be  known  by  nearness  to  the  poplar  trees." 

Ikon  laughed,  and  said  "  No." 

"Look  at  the  Great  Bear,  Ikon.  His  tail  points 
to  a  triangle  of  bright  stars — that  is,  three  stars 
arranged  in  the  shape  of  a  triangle.  I  hope  you 
know  what  a  triangle  is.  Have  you  found  them  ?  " 

"  N — o,"  Ikon  said  doubtfully  at  first;  and  then— 
"  O  yes;  I  do  see — quite  well." 

"  The  brightest  of  these  three  is  Arcturus,"  said 
Stella.  "  So,  while  two  stars  of  the  Great  Bear  point 
to  the  Pole-star,  three  others  point  towards  Areturus." 

"  But  they  aren't  called  pointers  too  ? "  said  Ikon. 

"  Ne.  It  is  much  more  important  to  us  to  know 
where  the  Pole-star  is,  than  to  know  where  Arcturus 
is.  So  we  think  more  of  that  pointing  than  of  the 
other." 

"  But  I  do  like  to  know  where  Arcturus  is.  I'll  be 
sure  not  to  forget,"  Ikon  said  joyously. 

"  One  thing  more  I  must  show  you,"  said  Stella. 
"See  there,  Ikon — rather  low,  and  very  far  away 
from  Orion — a  little  group  of  stars  close  together, 


How  many  Stars  there  are!  299 

shining  softly.  You  will  see  them  better  if  you 
look  at  the  sky  close  to  them,  instead  of  at  the 
stars  themselves.  That  little  cluster  of  soft  stars 
is  called  the  Pleiades." 

"That  was  what  Job  wrote  about?"  said 
Ikon. 

"  Yes.  They  are  faint  and  dim,  seen  from  earth; 
but  we  believe  them  to  be,  in  reality,  great  and 
powerful  suns, — probably  far  more  glorious  than 
our  own  sun." 

"  I  should  like  to  go  and  see  the  stars,"  said 
Ikon. 

"  Ah,  we  don't  know  what  a  journey  that  would 
be,"  said  Stella.  "  Look  at  all  those  stars,  and  think 
how  tremendously  far  away  they  are  from  us !  And 
that  is  nothing.  If  you  had  only  a  little  telescope, 
hundreds  of  new  stars  beyond  would  appear.  And 
with  stronger  telescopes,  the  hundreds  would  grow 
into  thousands,  and  the  thousands  into  millions; 
and  still  there  would  be  no  sign  of  any  end  to  the 
stars.  Suns  beyond  suns,  and  suns  beyond  suns,  as 
far  as  man  can  see — as  far  as  man  can  imagine.  It 
is  wonderful ! " 

After  a  pause  she  said,  "Do  you  see  that  hazy 
band  over  part  of  the  sky  ?  Look,  Ikon — like  a  broad 
river  of  dim  light.  Follow  it  carefully." 


300  Among  the  Stars. 

"  I've  often  seen  that,"  said  Ikon.  "  It  goes  right 
across  the  sky.  I  wonder  what  it  is." 

"  It  is  called  the  Milky  Way,"  said  Stella.  "  The 
Milky  Way  is  made  of  stars — hundreds,  thousands, 
millions  of  stars  !  Some  may  be  very  large,  and 
some  very  small;  some  more  near  and  some  more 
distant.  But  that  stream  of  soft  light  across  the 
sky  is  just  the  shining  of  countless  suns — far  far 
away ! " 

"  Miss  Stella,  does  God  know  all  about  those  suns  ?  ** 
asked  Ikon. 

"Why,  Ikon,  He  made  them!  The  Bible  says, 
'  He  calleth  them  all  by  their  names.' " 

"  And  would  God  be  sorry  if  one  of  them  died  ? " 
asked  Ikon  wistfully. 

"  I  don't  know,"  Stella  said,  gravely  smiling.  ' '  The 
stars  are  His  lamps,  Ikon.  If  a  lamp  is  not  needed 
any  longer,  we  put  it  out.  There  is  no  need  to  be 
sorry  for  that — when  the  lamp  has  done  its  work. 
Some  few  stars  have  seemed  to  die  out  at  different 
times — so,  perhaps,  their  work  as  lamps  was  done." 

"  Miss  Stella,"  said  Ikon  softly—-"  Miss  Stella,  the 
stars  seem  to  be  such  a  great  great  way  off.  Do  you 
think  Heaven  is  among  the  stars — or  right  away 
beyond  them  ? " 

"I  don't  know,"  Stella  again  answered  gently. 


How  many  Stars  there  are!  301 

"  Perhaps  among  them,  Ikon.  Christ  did  not  tell  us 
where  the  '  place '  was  that  He  went  to  '  prepare.' 
But  where  He  is,  there  Heaven  is  !  " 

Then  they  were  both  silent. 

"Miss  Stella,"  Ikon  began  once  more,  "are  all 
those  stars — every  one  of  the  stars  in  the  Milky 
Way — moving  like  our  sun  ? " 

"There  is  no  doubt  that  they  are,"  said  Stella. 
"  So  far  as  we  are  able  to  see,  no  sun  or  world  in  all 
the  universe  is  at  rest." 

"  But  where  are  they  all  going  to  ?"  asked  Ikon. 

"  Ah— that  I  cannot  tell  you,"  Stella  said.  "  It  may 
be  that  they  all  travel  round  some  far-off  centre,  like 
the  planets  travelling  round  the  sun.  But  we  know 
so  little." 

Then  the  two  went  slowly  indoors  together,  out  of 
the  solemn  presence  of  those  shining  heavenly 
lamps. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

? 

A    FEW    MORE    QUESTIONS. 

"  Miss  STELLA,  are  the  brightest  stars  always  the 
biggest  and  the  nearest  ? " 

It  was  a  day  or  two  later,  and  Stella  had  come 
into  the  playroom  with  Ikon  for  a  chat  on  his 
favourite  subject.  She  was  obliged  to  shorten  her 
stay,  and  could  only  remain  till  the  following  morning. 

Ikon  did  not,  however,  seem  at  all  heart-broken. 
On  the  contrary,  he  had  been  in  very  high  spirits  all 
day,  and  had  quite  tired  himself  out  with  racing 
about. 

For  Stella  had  invited  him  to  go  a  few  weeks 
later,  to  pay  a  long  visit  to  herself  and  Herr 
Lehrer.  Ikon  was  so  delighted  with  the  prospect, 
that  he  hardly  knew  how  to  contain  himself. 

So  to  quiet  him  down,  Stella  took  him  to  the  play- 
room, for  one  more  little  talk  about  the  stars.  And 


A  few  more  Questions.  303 

no  sooner  were  they  seated  than  Ikon  brought  out 
the  above  question. 

"No,  not  always,"  replied  Stella.  "Some  of  the 
nearer  stars  are  small  and  look  dim  to  us;  and  some 
of  the  farther  ones  are  large  and  brilliant.  Sirius  is 
the  brightest  star  we  see,  but  he  is  by  no  means  the 
nearest.  Still,  of  course,  a  great  many  stars  are 
only  faint  through  their  great  distance." 

"  I  wonder  why  some  of  the  stars  are  alone,  and 
some  are  in  Constellations,"  said  Ikon. 

"All  the  stars  are  in  Constellations,"  replied 
Stella. 

"Not  Arcturus!" 

"  Arcturus  is  in  the  Constellation  Bootes." 

"  And  Vega  ! " 

"  Vega  is  in  the  Constellation  Lyra;  Capella  is  in 
the  Constellation  Auriga;  Sirius  in  in  the  Constella- 
tion Canis  Major." 

"  Oh — I  didn't  know,"  responded  Ikon. 

"  I  want  you  to  understand  about  these  constella- 
tions, Ikon.  They  are  not  a  real  grouping  of  stars, 
—not  a  grouping  of  stars  really  nearest  together,  I 
mean — but  only  a  fancy  arrangement  of  stars,  as 
they  appear  to  us." 

Ikon's  assent  had  a  puzzled  sound. 

"The  stars  which  look  near  together  may  not  really 


304  Among  the  Stars. 

be  near  together,"  continued  Stella.  "  Just  as  we 
might  see  the  moon  and  Jupiter  quite  close  to  one 
another;  yet  they  would  really  be  far  distant — 
millions  and  millions  of  miles  separating  them." 

"  O  yes — I  see,"  Ikon  said,  brightening. 

"  The  whole  sky  is  parcelled  out  into  different 
groups  of  constellations.  Every  star  that  we  can 
see,  with  or  without  a  telescope,  must  be  in  one  or 
another  constellation.  It  is  convenient  to  have  the 
heavens  so  mapped  out  for  man's  use.  But  the  reat 
arrangement  of  the  stars  is  a  very  different  matter. 
The  very  nearest  and  the  very  farthest  stars  are 
classed  together  by  us  in  one  constellation — and  that 
of  course  is  not  their  real  arrangement." 

"  How  are  they  really  arranged  ?"  Ikon  inquired. 

"We  don't  know  much  about  that  yet.  We 
see  stars  in  twos  and  threes  and  fours — sometimes  in 
clusters,  and  rings,  and  spirals,  and  streams.  And 
often  they  really  do  belong  together — they  are  parts 
of  one  system  or  family  of  suns,  going  round  and 
round  one  centre  in  company." 

"  Couldn't  you  show  me  them  some  day  ? "  asked 
Ikon. 

"  Perhaps  my  father  will — through  his  telescope. 
There  are  many  stars  which  appear  like  only  one  to 
our  eyes;  but  if  we  look  through  a  telescope  the  one 


A  few  more  Questions.  305 

divides  into  two.  Sometimes  the  two  will  even 
divide  into  four.  Fancy  worlds  with  four  suns  to 
light  them,  Ikon  !  " 

"  Wouldn't  that  be  splendid  ? "  said  Ikon. 

"Still  more  splendid,  perhaps,  if  the  suns  were  of 
different  colours,"  said  Stella.  "  What  do  you  think 
of  a  red  sun  and  a  green  sun  ? " 

"  But  are  there  really  suns  like  that  ? "  Ikon  asked. 

"There  really  are  many  double-stars  of  different 
colours — two  suns,  with  perhaps  a  family  of  planets 
belonging  to  them.  We  cannot  see  the  planets  at 
this  distance,  so  that  is  doubtful;  but  we  do  see  the 
colours  of  the  stars." 

"  I  should  like  to  have  a  beautiful  red  sun  and  a 
green  sun  shining  in  the  sky  at  once,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Perhaps  the  effect  would  not  be  so  surprising  as 
you  think.  Red  and  green  together  make  white, 
— and  it  may  be  that  a  red  and  a  green  sun  together 
would  give  white  light,  such  as  we  have  from  our 
sun.  Still,  the  idea  is  very  wonderful." 

"Are  any  of  the  big  stars  pretty  colours  ?"  asked 
Ikon. 

"  Any  of  the  brighter  stars,  do  you  mean  ?  Sirius  is 
a  white  sun  now,  but  we  believe  that  he  was  once  a 
red  sun.  Arcturus  is  a  red  sun.  Capella  and  the 
Pole-star  are  yellow — and  our  own  sun  is  one  of  the 


306  Among  the  Stars. 

yellow  stars.  Vega  is  bluish.  In  the  southern  sky 
there  is  one  group  of  beautiful  blue  suns.  One  can 
hardly  fancy  how  that  would  appear  to  a  world 
moving  among  them." 

"  Miss  Stella,  do  the  stars  in  the  tail  of  the  Great 
Bear  all  travel  together  ? "  asked  Ikon  suddenly. 

"  They  are  not  near  together,"  said  Stella.  ' '  The 
space  between  those  separate  stars  is  enormous.  It 
has  been  thought  possible  that  they  maybe  moving  in 
something  of  the  same  direction.  But  when  we  talk 
of  a  double  or  quadruple  star,  we  mean  stars  so  near 
together  that  they  really  belong  to  one  another. 
They  may  even  then  be  much  farther  apart  than  the 
sun  and  Neptune,  but  they  travel  round  one  centre, 
and  to  our  eyes  without  a  telescope  they  generally 
look  like  one  star.' 

"  Everything  seems  such  a  great  way  off  from 
everything,  in  the  sky,"  said  Ikon. 

"  No  crowding,  is  there  ? "  said  Stella. 

"  O  no  !  But  the  stars  do  seem  dreadfully  far," 
said  Ikon. 

"  Did  you  ever  hear  of  a  Nebula  ? "  asked  Stella. 

Ikon  shook  his  head. 

"  We  must  get  my  father  to  show  you  one  in  his 
telescope.  A  nebula  is  a  faint  glimmer  of  light — 
only  light,  at  first.  But  seen  through  a  very  power- 


A  few  more  Questions.  307 

ful  telescope,  this  glimmer  of  light  will  sometimes 
open  partly  out  into  a.  close  cluster  of  stars,  thousands 
of  stars  together,  with  more  dim  light  behind." 

"  I  should  like  to  see  a  nebula — oh,  very  much  !  " 
said  Ikon. 

"  We  will  not  forget.  I  must  tell  you  more  about 
this  some  day." 

"  There  must  be  such  lots  more  stars  with  a  telescope 
than  without  it,"  said  Ikon. 

Stella  laughed.  "  Yes,"  she  said.  "  You  have  a 
funny  way  of  expressing  yourself,  Ikon;  but  I  know 
what  you  mean.  It  is  very  wonderful  to  count  the 
number  of  stars  visible  to  the  naked  eye,  on  one 
little  patch  of  sky,  and  then  to  see  what  hundreds 
more  become  visible  through  a  telescope,  in  that 
very  same  patch." 

"  I  do  wonder  how  many  really  bright  stars  there 
are  in  the  sky,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Stars  of  the  First  Magnitude.  About  twenty 
altogether.  Of  the  Second  Magnitude,  about  sixty- 
five,  and  of  the  Third  Magnitude  about  two  hundred. 
But  these  are  scattered  all  round  the  world.  Only 
about  half  the  number  can  be  seen  anywhere  at 
once." 

"  And  we  don't  want  a  telescope  to  see  those  ?  " 

"No.     Our  eyes  can  see  stars  up  to  about  the 


308  Among  the  Stars. 

Sixth  Magnitude  without  help.  After  this  a  bino- 
cular is  needed;  then  a  small  telescope,  then  a  larger 
and  larger  one.  And  the  number  of  stars  visible 
soon  mount  up  to  hundreds  of  thousands,  and  to 
millions.  How  many  hundreds  of  millions  more 
may  lie  beyond,  out  of  reach  of  the  most  powerful 
telescope  ever  made,  we  cannot  even  guess." 

"  I  wonder  how  far  off  Sirius  is,"  said  Ikon. 

"About  four  times  the  distance  of  the  nearest  star 
known  to  us,"  said  Stella.  "  Ikon,  do  you  know  how 
fast  light  travels  ? " 

"  I  didn't  know  it  travelled  at  all,"  said  Ikon. 

"  O  yes,  it  does.  Light  is  not  everywhere  at  once. 
It  journeys  very  fast  in  little  waves — much  faster 
than  the  fastest  star.  Every  second  light  flashes 
through  thousands  of  miles — not  much  less  than  two 
hwidred  thousand  miles." 

*  That's  tremendously  fast,"  said  Ikon. 

"  Here  is  a  ray  of  sunlight  falling  in  through  the 
window,"  said  Stella.  "  It  has  come  straight  from 
the  sun.  See  how  steady  the  shining  is.  Wave 
after  wave  of  brightness  comes  more  quickly  than 
you  and  I  can  even  fancy.  The  journey  from  sun  to 
earth  is  very  long.  How  much  time  shall  we  allow 
the  little  ray  of  light  for  that  journey,  Ikon  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  Ikon  said  doubtfully. 


A  few  more  Questions.  309 

"  Only  eight  minutes  and  a  half.  Look — the  ray 
is  falling  on  my  hand  now.  Only  eight  minutes  and 
a  half  ago  that  same  ray  left  the  burning  glowing 
sun." 

"  It's  quicker  than  Eikon  went  in  his  dream," 
murmured  Ikon. 

"  I  don't  know  how  fast  Wings  of  Imagination  may 
carry  one  in  a  dream;  but  we  do  know  how  fast  light 
can  travel.  It  comes  from  the  sun  to  us  in  eight 
minutes  and  a  half.  But  from  the  nearest  fixed  star, 
light  cannot  arrive  in  less  than  three  years  and  a 
half." 

"What's  the  name  of  the  nearest  fixed  star?" 
asked  Ikon. 

"  Alpha  Centauri.  Don't  forget,  Ikon — three  years 
and  a  half,  travelling  at  the  rate  of  more  than 
one  hundred  and  ninety  thousand  miles  each 
second." 

"I'll  try  to  remember,"  Ikon  said  soberly. 

"From  Sirius,  light  comes  to  us  in  twenty 
years." 

"Oh!"  Ikon  said. 

"  From  the  Pole-star  in  about  fifty  years." 

"  I  wonder  the  light  doesn't  get  almost  tired  of 
going  on." 

"  No  fear  of  that,"  said  Stella.     "  Think,  Ikon— 


310  Among  the  Stars. 

when  you  looked  at  the  Pole-star,  two  nights  ago, 
the  little  ray  of  light  which  shone  into  your  eyes 
had  left  the  star  itself  fifty  years  ago— long  before 
you  were  born.  For  the  Pole-star  is  two  hundred 
millions  of  millions  of  miles  away." 

"  And  other  stars  ? "  said  Ikon. 

"  Other  stars  are  more  distant  still;  so  the  light- 
journeys  from  them  are  longer.  But  you  need  not 
try  to  take  in  everything  at  once,"  Stella  said. 

Then  Dormer  entered  the  room,  with  a  letter, 
\rhich  Stella  opened  and  read. 

"As  I  expected,"  she  observed;  "I  must  go  home 
by  the  earliest  train  to-morrow.  So  you  and  I  have 
had  our  last  chat,  Ikon,  just  for  a  little  while.  But 
very  soon,  I  hope,  you  will  come  to  us." 

"I  should  be  so  sorry  if  it  wasn't  for  that,"  said 
Ikon.  Then  he  looked  up  in  Stella's  face  suddenly, 
— "Miss  Stella,  there's  one  thing  I  do  want  to 
ask." 

"  Ask,"  said  Stella,  smiling. 

"  I'm  so  puzzled,  because  Herr  Lehrer  is  a  Ger- 
man, and  he  is  your  father;  so  you  must  be  German 
too, — and  yet  you  don't  seem  German." 

"  No;  I  am  not  at  all  German,"  said  Stella.  "  My 
mother  is  English,  and  I  have  almost  always  lived 
in  England." 


A  few  more  Questions.  311 

"  And  you  aren't  like  Herr  Lehrer,  are  you  ? " 
said  Ikon. 

"Not  much,"  replied  Stella.  "They  say  I  take 
after  my  mother.  I  am  only  like  him,  Ikon — and 
like  you  too— in  my  love  for  the  beautiful  stars." 


THE   END. 


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Among  the  Stars  $1.25 

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Story 

Ocean  of  Air 
Sun,  Moon,  and  Stars 
World's  Foundation 
Starry  Skies 
The  Andersons 
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Everybody's  Business 
""""Seside  the  Waters  of  Com- 
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